Troublesome Games
by Flamestar0096
Summary: As soon as children can walk, they are taught how to kill. Assassination, Destruction, Theft, toppling entire city governments is just another day of the job for them. This is the story of the first of the three and the chain of events that started everything. Gamer!Shika No Pairing for Shikamaru.
1. New Game

**Hello everyone! I know that the title is overused, but it fits in this case and not the other ones because you'll get it if you've read the other ones. It turns out that I needed to get that stuff after all, so… yeah! Shikamaru is here playing against himself for… whatever reason. Say hi Shika.**

 **Shikamaru: *Looks at me* Your cousin is troublesome.**

 **I know! But that doesn't stop her from being my cousin, just like you can't help that Ino is your teammate in the anime.**

 **Shikamaru: All blondes are troublesome.**

 **Yang: What did you say…?!**

 **Shikamaru: Case in point.**

 **Yang: Why you-**

 **Enjoy everyone!**

* * *

"Speech"

' _Thought'_

" _Telepathy"_

" _ **Bijuu"**_

" **Jutsu** "

 **Windows/Skills**

* * *

 **WELCOME TO FATE CHANGER!**

 **Would you like to start a New Game?**

 **[YES/NO]**

That was what Shikamaru woke up to. A blue window in front of his face, interrupting his dream of cloud watching eternally. He shook his head and closed his eyes, waiting for his tired vision to go away. When it didn't, he groaned and stared at the window again. ' _Sure. Why not? Might as well see where this goes.'_ He pushed on the **YES** button and the window went away. It was quickly replaced by a new one.

 **CHARACTER ADVANCEMENT:**

 **Presets: Select a class preset. This will determine how you level and how your stats advance.**

 **Custom: Make your own path! Advance how you want!**

Shikamaru stared at that window as well, analysing it for a bit, before sighing and pressing on Custom. If this was real, then having presets would not be good for him. The window was replaced again with one with a weird… thing that had kanji on the bottom of it.

 **ENTER YOUR NAME:**

 **Last Name:**

 **First Name:**

Shikamaru sighed as he entered his name on the kanji thing. The window disappeared and was replaced with a much smaller one.

 **Thank you for choosing Fate Changer! Installation will begin now! Don't scream~!**

"Wait wha-" Shikamaru had to cover his mouth as pain stabbed through his entire body. It felt like his entire body was on fire. He writhed in his bed for a full minute before the pain stopped. He panted heavily as he fell limp against the bed.

 **Installation complete! Have fun!**

Shikamaru was tempted to flip off the sky, but he liked the clouds. He groaned as he sat up. "So… that pain was real. Which means that this is real as well…" He shook his head softly. "Troublesome…" He got up and quickly got ready for the academy, not wanting to be late so he could take his nap. Shika walked down the stairs and saw a question mark above his mother's head. There was also something else.

 **Housewife to Shadows**

 **Yoshino Nara**

 **LV: 53**

Yoshino looked back at Shikamaru. "You don't have time for breakfast Shika. You woke up late. Hurry to the academy!"

 **!QUEST ALERT!  
Get to class!**

 **Main Objective: Get to the Ninja Academy on time!**

 **Side Objective 1: Get to class early**

 **Hidden Objective**

 **Main Rewards: 200 EXP, Increased trust with your instructors, Increased trust with Yoshino Nara**

 **Side Rewards: 100 EXP, Increased trust with your instructors**

 **Hidden Rewards**

 **Failure: Decreased trust with Yoshino Nara**

 **Do you accept this Quest?**

 **[YES/NO]**

Shikamaru looked at the window and then nodded as he accepted the Quest, even though he didn't know what it was, he didn't want to risk the wrath of his mother. Ever. "Alright mom, I'm going. I'll see you after school." He quickly left the compound and started running towards the Academy as fast as he could. Shame that it was across the village.

 **RUN! YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT! + 1 DEX**

' _Okay, what in Kami's name is this?'_ Shika willed away the screen somehow and another one popped up.

 **Would you like to view the tutorial?**

Shikamaru nodded softly, hoping that it would work so he wouldn't have to draw any more attention to himself.

 **Tutorial will be broken down into parts. Say "Status"**

"Okay… **Status**." Shikamaru didn't dare to flinch when another screen popped up in front of him.

 **Name: Shikamaru Nara**

 **Title: The Gamer**

 **Job: Ninja**

 **Rank: Student (+ 20% EXP gain to all Academy Skills until they reach Skill LVL 20)**

 **Affiliation: Konoha**

 **LVL: 8 Next LVL: 15.65%**

 **HP: 475/475 (Regen: 9.5 per minute**

 **CP: 663/663 (Regen: 13 per minute)**

 **STR: 17**

 **VIT: 19**

 **DEX: 18**

 **INT: 34**

 **WIS: 15**

 **LUK: 5**

 **Ryō: 0**

 **Perks:**

 **Nara Heritage: Allows usage of the Yin Release to manipulate Darkness**

 **Genius: + 50% EXP gain to INT, when focused, answers come much easier**

 **Shogi Journeyman: +25% EXP to WIS when playing Shogi.**

 **This is your Status screen. This will be how you keep track of your progress as you advance throughout the game.**

 **KEEP RUNNING! +1 DEX**

Shika groaned as he shook his head. He muttered "Troublesome" under his breath as he approached the Academy building. The Nara entered Iruka's classroom to see that he was almost the only one there, besides some civilian kids. Only one of them really stood out of the group, and not in the best of ways.

 **Cowardly Bully**

 **Ami Chinoike**

 **LV: 5**

"Shikamaru. You're here early." Iruka stared at Shikamaru, stunned that the laziest kid in class showed up early for once.

Shikamaru nodded and took his seat before laying his head down to take a nap. It was interrupted by a pinging noise. He groaned softly and looked up to see another window. ' _This is getting annoying.'_

 **!QUEST COMPLETE!**

 **Get to class!**

 **Main Objective: Get to the Ninja Academy on time!**

 **Side Objective 1: Get to class early**

 **Hidden Objective: Begin the tutorial**

 **Rewards: 200 EXP, Increased trust with your instructors, Increased trust with Yoshino Nara, 100 EXP, Increased trust with your instructors, Enhanced menu customization**

Shika rolled his eyes and laid his head down again, still trying to get sleep.

* * *

Shikamaru was woken by the obnoxious yelling of Sakura and Ino, arguing about their 'Sasuke-kun' again. He glanced over at Naruto, and saw something… odd.

 **Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi**

 **Naruto Uzumaki**

 **LVL: 7**

Shikamaru stared at the level and then sighed. ' _He's going to be dead last… and paired up with the Uchiha.'_ He looked over at Sasuke.

 **Self Proclaimed Avenger**

 **Sasuke Uchiha**

 **LV: 13**

' _I doubt that either of them are going to be happy with that, so either I help Naruto from dead last, and put Kiba in that spot… or I go to the top of the class… this is so troublesome.'_

 **!QUEST ALERT!**

 **Branching Paths**

 **Main Objective: Help Naruto out of his position in Dead Last**

 **OR**

 **Main Objective: Become the top ninja of your class**

 **Rewards: Increased Closeness to Naruto, Increased closeness with Hiruzen Sarutobi**

 **OR**

 **Increased closeness to the Nara clan, Decreased closeness to Sasuke Uchiha.**

 **Failure: Naruto teamed up with Sasuke.**

 **Do you accept this Quest?**

 **[YES/NO]**

Shikamaru sighed and tapped the **YES** button. This… whatever it was is significantly more troublesome then the last one. He hated making choices like this, as it always led to something more troublesome down the road. He sat up and adopted his thinking pose. ' _Okay. Let's consider my options and how they can play out. If I help Naruto out of the Dead Last position, then I can get closer to him, figure out why he's only level seven with all the pranks he does, and quite possibly get close to the Hokage, and ask what a jinchuriki is. However, that would lead to him being suspicious about me knowing about something that seemingly no one else knows about…'_ He glanced at the opening doors. It was just a couple more civilian students. ' _On the other hand… I take the top spot, and guarente Naruto on my team, and I get closer to my family, but I abhore attention…Both paths are troublesome.'_

 **For intensely analyzing your situation and seeing both routes at all angles, you have gained + 1 WIS!**

Shikamaru blinked and suddenly he had a solution. ' _All I have to do is get Naruto out of that spot. That would bump Kiba down to Dead Last, but if they go up together… then the spot for Dobe is taken by a civilian kid. I'll need to speak to my dad about him speaking to the Inuzuka clan head to help Kiba with getting higher up on the board as well.'_ He wrote down a note and then folded it into a paper shuriken. Shika then launched the paper weapon at Naruto.

Naruto flinched as the shuriken hit his cheek and fell to the ground. He rubbed the spot where it hit and then unfolded it to read the note.

'Naruto. Meet me after class. It's about team placements. - Shikamaru'

Naruto looked back at Shikamaru, who barely nodded before laying his head down.

 **A special skill has been created through a special action! Through the creation of a usable item, the skill [Crafting] has been created!**

 **The Tutorial will now resume.**

 **Skills: These are specific abilities that can be improved with time, practice, and other means occasionally. Skills can either be learned naturally, or through the usage of Skill Books. These will be explained at a later date. For now, say 'Skills'**

Shikamaru sighed again. "Skills."

 **Academy Style Taijutsu** **(Active): LVL: 15 EXP: 17.34%: The basic fighting style that all ninja in training learn whilst in the Academy.**

 **\+ 3% Damage to all unarmed attacks**

 **Bunshin no Jutsu(Cloning Technique)** **(Active): LVL: 14 EXP: 1.54% CP Cost: 50: One of the basic three jutsu all ninja should know. Create clones of yourself with Chakra Hand Seals: Ram - Snake - Tiger**

 **Clones are merely illusions**

 **Each additional clone requires 50 more CP**

 **Can control 2 clones**

 **Crafting** **(Passive): LVL:1 EXP: 0.00%: The action of creating something from something else.**

 **1% increase to chances of creating something through crafting materials**

 **Difficulty increases as the complexity of the crafted item increases.**

 **Dagger Mastery** **: LVL: 9: EXP: 24.31%: Most do not possess the natural Dexterity or grace to master the art of daggers. Most.**

 **\+ 15% damage when Dagger type weapons are equipped**

 **\+ 10% Crit Chance when Dagger type weapons are equipped**

 **\- 19% durability loss to all Dagger type weapons**

 **Gamer's Mind** **(Passive) LVL:MAX** **:** **A skill only given to The Gamer, it allows the Gamer always be able to think things through calmly and logically.**

 **Allows a peaceful state of mind**

 **Grants immunity to all psychological effects**

 **Grants immunity to all mental disorders (Past disorders do not intensify)**

 **Gamer's Body** **(Passive) LVL:MAX: A skill only granted to the Gamer, it allows one to live their life as a video game.**

 **Fully restores all HP and CP upon rest, as well as removing all fatigue**

 **Removes all negative status effects upon rest.**

 **Henge no Jutsu(Transformation Technique)** **(Active): LVL: 11 EXP: 0.45% CP Cost: 35 per minute: One of the basic three jutsu all ninja should know. Disguise yourself as someone or something else! Hand Seals: Dog - Boar - Ram**

 **Disguise only works on physical vision**

 **One strike and the illusion is dispelled**

 **Kagemane no Jutsu(Shadow Imitation Technique)** **(Active): LVL: 8 EXP: 78.42% CP Cost: Special: The first secret technique of the Nara clan. Hand seals: Rat**

 **Can extend up to 9 meters**

 **Base cost 20 CP per second**

 **Additional 40 CP per possession**

 **Kawarimi no Jutsu(Body Replacement Technique)** **(Active): LVL: 12 EXP: 89.27% CP Cost: 38: One of the basic three jutsu all ninja should know. Replace yourself with an object of your choosing. Praise the log. Hand Seals: Tiger - Boar - Ox - Dog - Snake**

 **Replace yourself with an object within a 5 meter diameter.**

 **Triple the CP cost to replace yourself with a random log. (Konoha Specific Variant)**

 **Leaf Concentration** **(Passive/Active): LVL: 3 EXP: 37.04% CP Cost: 20 per minute: The very first Chakra Control method created in Hi no Kuni. The closer to mastery this skill becomes, the less Chakra is wasted in all Chakra based skills**

 **3 leaves can be held in place**

 **-0.25% CP cost to all Chakra based Techniques**

 **Tactics** **(Passive): LVL: 19 EXP: 42.74%: The art of strategic placement applies to everything. In some cases, even women.**

 **When focused in this mindset, all strategic decisions come 19% faster.**

 **Affected by INT and WIS**

 **(Locked until [Leadership] is learned)**

 **Throwing Weapon Mastery** **(Passive): LVL: 9 EXP: 28.20%: Through constant practice, you have begun to master the basics of throwing weapons.**

 **\+ 15% accuracy when using throwing weapons**

 **\+ 10% Critical Hit chance when using throwing weapons**

 **\+ 10% damage dealt when using throwing weapons**

 **EXP gained from throwing weapons is different with each throwing weapon**

' _That was a lot to read… But not without a point. It's saying that my stealth skills are zero, even though that's what ninja are known for, and my combat is… lacking, to say the least. Troublesome… guess I'll have to shed this lazy demeanor anyways.'_

 **For accepting that you must adapt to your current situation, you have gained +1 WIS**

Shika nodded softly as he sat up straight to meet Iruka's gaze for the briefest of moments, which should tell the teacher all he needed to know about the situation.

Iruka hid his shock expertly as he turned around to face the board. However, once his back was turned, he smiled. He hadn't had the best of mornings, but seeing the one of the two students he knows can do much better deciding to improve now before the test. Granted, it's not the Gennin test, but it's still important, as it can affect their placement on the board very heavily. "Alright class, settle down. Today's simply going to be a review of the Leaf Concentration exercise so that you can improve your Chakra Control."

Shikamaru sighed as he took a leaf out from under his desk, and stuck it to his forehead, trying to do the chakra control exercise like he was taught, and it stuck to him like melted rubber. Yesterday, it slipped before it stuck to his forehead. ' _Did this Gamer thing make all of my abilities more efficient? If so, then I'll have to get used to less resistance when I perform the other Jutsu that I've learned… this entire thing is troublesome, but not as much as it could be, I suppose.'_ He then took a look at his CP and saw that it was steadily ticking down at a very slow rate. He didn't really care all that much though. While his numbers said that he didn't have much Chakra in the first place, that could be changed.

Naruto cursed quietly as the leaf was blown from his head again for some reason. He was doing everything just like Iruka-sensei was telling him, so why was he getting it wrong?!

Shikamaru nodded to himself and then stood up and walked over to Naruto. He sat down next to the blonde and pressed the leaf against Naruto's head. "Use as little Chakra as you possibly can. It's blowing off because you're using too much."

Naruto blinked, then nodded as he channeled as little Chakra into the leaf as he could. When Shikamaru let go of the leaf, it was pushed off of his head, but it wasn't blown off. He growled in frustration. "I don't understand! What am I doing wrong?!"

Shikamaru thought for a minute, then pressed the leaf onto Naruto's head again. "It was closer to you when it was blown off. Use that as a measuring stick for how much Chakra you need to be able to do this."

Naruto pouted a little. "But that was the smallest amount of Chakra I could use… I tried asking Mizuki-sensei about any tips, but he said that I just had to do it. That there were no tips."

Shikamaru frowned as he furrowed his brow in thought. "You might also be doing it wrong as well as using to much Chakra. How are you trying to stick it onto you?"

Naruto sighed. "By moving my Chakra into the leaf."

"Nothing else?"

The whiskered blond shook his head slightly. "No. I mean, that's what I was told to do."

Shika sighed quietly. "No wonder. You were taught it the wrong way. What you need to do is circulate your chakra through the leaf and back into you to make it stick."

Naruto stared Shikamaru in the eyes. "... What does 'circulate' mean?"

Shikamaru groaned quietly as he muttered 'troublesome' under his breath. "Okay… close your eyes and imagine a circle of chakra connecting the leaf to you. Use as little as possible, and keep the circle moving."

Naruto nodded as he grabbed the leaf, and then did what Shikamaru said. It stuck for a few moments, but when Naruto got excited, it was blown off. "I did it! Thanks Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru nodded as he pressed his leaf to his head. He closed his eyes and shifted his hands as he got into his 'thinking pose'. ' _So, Naruto isn't the Dobe because he's stupid. He actually picked that up very quickly. His learning has been sabotaged by at least Mizuki-sensei, but why? Is it because of he's… whatever a Jinchuriki is? Troublesome… I hate not knowing something.'_ He sighed as he stared at the clock. "This is going to be a long day…"

 **[Leaf Concentration] has gained a level!**

' _At least it will be productive.'_

* * *

Shika groaned as he heard Iruka announce that classes were over for the day. He waited for everyone to get up and leave before he looked over at Naruto. He stood with a sigh as a leaf fell off of his head. "Follow me Naruto." He led the blond up to the roof and then sat down near the edge. "So, I'll get right to the point. If you keep going like you are now, then you'll end up being paired with Sasuke."

Naruto's eyes widened and then groaned. "Why Kami? Why do you have to do this to me?!" He sat down with a huff. "It's not even my fault. I can't even understand half of the stuff in there."

Shika closed his eyes as he entered his thinking pose for the second time today to avoid a headache. "So is that from sleeping in class or your teachers being temes?"

Naruto scratched his head a bit and then chuckled sheepishly. "I guess both…?"

Shika groaned. "Troublesome… alright then. At least you're honest about it. I'm here to make a deal with you Naruto. And listen before you agree or refuse it." He took a deep breath when he saw Naruto nod. "I'm going to help you stay off of that Temes' team, and in return, you're going to help me with sneaking around and my physical training. This deal can be changed, and it lasts until we both graduate. Do we have a deal?"

Naruto nodded as soon as Shikamaru finished. "Of course we do, dattebayo! I hate that teme, so I can get through anything to make sure that I'm not on the same team as him!" He gave Shikamaru a toothy grin. "So when do we start?"

Shikamaru pulled out a language textbook out of his bag. "Right now. I've noticed that you have trouble reading, so this is what this is for. When you get to a difficult word, just tell me and I'll help you through it."

Naruto was about to cheer, but then he realized that he'll be studying. "But when would I need t-"

"I'm going to stop you right there and say that what happens when you have to read an urgent notice from your jonin sensei, or have to write a report to the Hokage? Despite what you think, language is important, and you need to learn it. Understood?" When he received a hesitant nod, he nodded back. "Alright then. We'll do this for two hours every day until you can read at the average level of genin, and write well, even if it's sloppy, I have to be able to read it. After that, we'll start the physical training that you'll be helping me through, but every Saturday, we'll be doing Stealth training, seeing as the Academy doesn't offer that."

 **Through your careful planning and conviction in your words, you have gained +1 WIS**

Naruto nodded with a sigh. "Alright… If this helps me to not get teamed with that teme, I'll do it. But I won't be happy about it." He then began to read the book, and within the first five minutes, he stopped. "What does this word mean?"

Shikamaru sighed and shook his head. ' _No, I asked for this… it's just troublesome…'_ He moved over to Naruto and then began to help him read through the first couple of chapters of the book.

Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched by the Hokage through a crystal ball. Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled a genuine smile for the first time this week as he watched the young Nara boy teach his favorite prankster. He knew that he shouldn't have said a single word about Naruto being a Jinchuriki, and should've kept that secret to himself. Then maybe Naruto wouldn't have a need for a life like this. However, hindsight is 20/20, as everyone knows, and now a young, innocent boy who had no say in any of this is being tormented by his mistake. Sure things died down once he made the law, however, he believed that the villagers just made Naruto's life much more difficult in failed attempts to kill him. Hiruzen snapped his fingers suddenly.

An anbu with a cat mask appeared from the shadows. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen looked at the Anbu with a small smirk on his face. "Neko, I want you to bring me the records of one Nara Shikamaru, even his sensei's personal notes."

Neko nodded as they disappeared in a **Shunshin** , leaving the Hokage alone in his office. He looked around for a moment to determine if there were any more Anbu around, before pulling out a book with an orange cover on it. "I need to remember to thank my student for sending me the uncut copy of this issue." He smiled perversely as he flipped through the pages of the smutty book.

* * *

It has been a few weeks since Shikamaru and Naruto have began training together. Despite the initial frustration with the blond haired Jinchuriki not being able to read very well, he was surprisingly a quick learner once he learned how to do certain things. They had to adjust their plan slightly when Shika noticed that Naruto was taught the incorrect exercises at the Academy as well. They still left Sunday's free, seeing as he doubted that Naruto could help him with his clan's' hidden jutsu. However, the rest of the training was going well. Shika was currently looking at his stats. He found out that with his **Gamer's Body** skill, he was able to recover from complete physical exhaustion in at most half an hour, and was completely immune to the effects of Chakra Exhaustion, though there was a delay before his CP began to regenerate if he was completely drained of it. It actually allowed him to improve by leaps and bounds. In the few weeks of training with Naruto and this ability, he could _feel_ the changes to his body, and numbers don't lie either.

 **Name: Shikamaru Nara**

 **Title: The Gamer**

 **Job: Ninja**

 **Rank: Student (+ 20% EXP gain to all Academy Skills until they reach Skill LVL 20)**

 **Affiliation: Konoha**

 **LVL: 8 Next LVL: 15.65%**

 **HP: 650/650 (Regen: 13 per minute**

 **CP: 788/788 (Regen: 20.5 per minute)**

 **STR: 24**

 **VIT: 26**

 **DEX: 28**

 **INT: 37**

 **WIS: 24**

 **LUK: 5**

 **Ryō: 0**

 **Perks:**

 **Nara Heritage: Allows usage of the Yin Release to manipulate Darkness**

 **Genius: + 50% EXP gain to INT, when focused, answers come much easier**

 **Shogi Journeyman: +25% EXP to WIS when playing Shogi.**

He didn't find a way to train his LUK yet, but he assumed that it had to do with getting lucky, seeing as the other stats were connected to the actions connected to improving them. He was also able to raise the **[Leaf Concentration]** skill of his by seven levels, though it wasn't that difficult. He could now attach 11 leaves to himself, but he found out that the more leaves he sticks to himself, the more the CP cost is, with just two doubling the cost. His CP regen was high enough to where he could now have a leaf on him at all times luckily, so now he wouldn't need to wait for that troublesome regen time.

Naruto panted heavily as he finished his exercises for the day. He was glad that tomorrow was his day off from training, as he wanted to pull a few pranks on a few people who deserved it. "Okay… I think that I'm done for the day Shika… hah… this training is intense…"

Shikamaru nodded in response as he looked Naruto over. "… Naruto, lift your shirt for me."

Naruto nodded absently, too tired to ask questions. He lifted his shirt revealing his bony ribcage.

Shikamaru stared at Naruto's ribs, ignoring the giant seal on his stomach. "Well… this actually explains something. You can put your shirt down."

Naruto let go of his shirt, letting it drop. "So, what's the matter…?"

Shika sighed. "Well, I wanted to know how you get exhausted so quickly. You're malnourished. Your body doesn't have what it needs to function, so it's taking resources from other parts of your body to keep running."

Naruto didn't understand all of that, but he knew that it was bad. "What?! How do I get rid of it?! How did I get like this in the first place?!"

Shika adopted a common thinking pose as he looked Naruto over again. "My guess? Too much ramen."

Naruto's chakra suddenly spiked as he adopted a serious demeanor. "You take that back."

Shikamaru sighed again. "Troublesome… there are multiple ways you can get this treated. The first is to just eat healthy. I assume that you're getting your ramen from somewhere, so next time you go there, I'll come with you and tell them that they need to adjust your orders to be able to help you. From what you've told me about the chef there, it should be easy."

Naruto sighed in relief when he realized that he didn't have to give ramen up. "What are the other options?"

Shika began to think about that. He didn't expect that Naruto would even want to hear the other options, considering the first involved ramen. "Well, the second option would be to get supplements and take them while you eat your normal ramen, but you'd have to take a lot of them, and from what you told me, you don't have the funds for that."

Naruto chuckled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. I keep getting instant ramen. It's not my fault that it's overpriced."

Shikamaru took note of that and decided to bring it up later. "And the third option is that you undergo a procedure in the hospital that will fix your malnutrition in a matter of weeks instead of months."

Naruto hummed a bit, then shook his head. "I… don't really like hospitals. Plus, it costs a lot of money to do that right?"

Shikamaru nodded again. "So the first option it is. On that note, why don't we get some ramen Naruto?"

Naruto cheered as he jumped into the air. He then grabbed Shikamaru's wrist and dragged him to Ichiraku's ramen stand. "Teuchi-oji-san! Ayame-nee-chan! I brought a friend!"

The man identified as Teuchi smiled when he saw Naruto. "Naruto! You're early! Usually, you don't come here until the sun sets."

Naruto chuckled as he sat down on a stool. "Yeah, well, we got done early today, so I brought him here!"

Shikamaru sat down on the stool next to Naruto. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Nara Shikamaru. And before Naruto gets started, I need to request that you alter his order depending on what he gets."

Teuchi narrowed his eyes. "And why is that, Nara-san?"

"Because Naruto is severely malnourished, and he needs to eat something that will help his body recover. I'm not an Iryonin, but I believe that he's lacking in everything."

A young woman came out from the back. This was Ayame, judging by the words above her head. "I've actually told Tou-san the same thing awhile ago, but because Naruto didn't know what it meant, he thought that it would make the ramen taste bad."

Naruto looked at Shikamaru. "Um… why do I need to get rid of this again?"

Shika groaned softly. "Because it will get in the way of your training. By not eating healthily, your body won't be able to keep up at the pace you want, and it will give out on you."

Naruto nodded. "Okay then! Let's do it! Ten Miso Ramen bowls please!"

Shikamaru's head shot over to Naruto, his eyes wide with shock. ' _Ten?!_ ' He then looked at Ayame. "… Are you sure he isn't an Akimichi?"

Ayame giggled at the question. "To be honest, I've asked myself the same thing." She then walked over to the counter to take Teuchi's place. "And what will you have Nara-san?"

Shikamaru looked over the menu for a moment, then nodded softly. "I'll have the Tonkatsu ramen bowl."

Ayame nodded as she wrote the order down. "Coming right up! And before you look for your wallet, first time customers get one bowl free. It helps to attract customers, according to Tou-san." She then walked into the back and began to prepare Shikamaru's ramen bowl.

Shikamaru sighed softly as he set the menu down and looked at Naruto. "So… why do you only eat here? Surely other places let you eat there."

Naruto shook his head. "Nope. They all just kick me out and call me a 'demon brat' for some reason. I tried asking Jiji about it, but he said not to worry about it and not listen to them." He looked at his hands that were on the counter. "Though, it gets a little lonely when the adults tell their kids to stay away from the 'demon'. That's why I have no friends besides you. We… we are friends, right Shikamaru?"

Shika stared at the blonde for a moment, then nodded with a smile. "Of course we are Naruto. And just call me Shika from now on." He then looked at his own hands. ' _He's clearly not a demon, but he is a menace. Albeit a fun one. But that just makes this entire situation even more troublesome.'_ "… What's your dream Naruto?"

Naruto looked back over at Shika, his eyes wide with shock. "Well, I want to be the Hokage so that everyone will have to acknowledge me as me!" He then became curious. "What's your dream Shika?"

Shikamaru chuckled as he looked up. "I just want to be able to watch my clouds in peace." He knew what the village politics were, and he hated it. But seeing as he wasn't a clan head yet, he couldn't do anything about it, which is more troublesome then actually doing something.

Naruto snickered. "That's such a weird dream!" He then got all of the amusement out of his system and sighed with a smile. "But it sounds nice… peace…"

Shikamaru nodded softly as he stared at the clouds through the vent on the roof. "Yeah, it does."

* * *

Hiruzen groaned as he finished his paperwork. Why Minato had to give him this job again, he had no idea, but as Hokage, he had to endure this for the village.

"Jiji!" The doors to his office flung open to reveal Naruto and Shikamaru. Apparently, Naruto could enter the Hokage's office whenever he chooses to, which both helped and hindered the Hokage.

Hiruzen smiled softly, welcoming both Naruto and the distraction. "Naruto! I see that you've finally taken the Academy seriously, with help from the most average student there."

Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "Well, Shika said that if I don't get better, then I'll be paired with Sasuke-teme, and I don't want that!" He then pushed Shikamaru in front of him. "By the way, this is Shika!"

Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome… what he means, Hokage-Sama, is that I am Nara Shikamaru, and it's an honor to meet you. Though… I do have a question about _foxes_. Though I have to go soon, seeing as my Tou-san expects me home at _nine_. Apparently there's something to do with talking to the Inuzuka family."

The Sandaime didn't show any reaction to Shikamaru's hidden message and nodded. "Well, what do you want to know Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru looked back at Naruto. "Hey… could you give me a minute to talk to the Hokage alone Naruto?"

Naruto seemed confused but nodded. "Sure Shika. I'll just wait outside." He then walked out of the office and closed the doors behind him.

Shikamaru sighed a bit, then looked at Hiruzen. "So… Hiruzen Sarutobi. What compelled you to make Naruto a Jinchuuriki?" He saw the Hokage's face twitch ever so slightly from that. His years of playing Shogi has taught him to be very observant.

The Hokage sighed and then held up a one handed seal and a pulse of chakra went through the room. "You do realize that you could be executed just for mentioning that, right?"

Shika shrugged as he hid his surprise. Another thing Shogi taught him is to hide your true thoughts with lies. "You haven't executed anyone for mentioning Naruto as a 'demon brat' or for kicking him out of stores while yelling 'stay out of my store you damned kyuubi'! It doesn't happen as much in the ninja stores, but it still happens." Just then a huge wave of pressure was on Shikamaru. He fell to his knees and looked for the source of the pressure, and saw the very enraged look on the Hokage's face.

 **Special skills have been created through special actions!**

 **Through detecting an ominous presence in your vicinity, the skill [Detect Intent] has been created!**

 **Through adapting to the feeling of death, the skill [Resist Intent] has been created!**

 **Through feeling excruciating pain and staying alive, the skill [Physical Endurance] has been created!**

 **Due to a number of skills being learned at once, their descriptions will not be displayed.**

 **[Detect Intent] has gained a level!**

 **[Detect Intent] has gained a level!**

 **[Detect Intent] has gained a level!**

 **[Detect Intent] has gained a level!**

 **[Detect Intent] has gained a level!**

 **[Resist Intent] has gained a level!**

 **[Resist Intent] has gained a level!**

 **[Resist Intent] has gained a level!**

 **[Resist Intent] has gained a level!**

' _W-What the hell is this?!'_ Shika struggled to stand, only able to get a single leg off of the ground.

 **Killing Intent detected! Origin: Right in front of you!**

' _Killing Intent…? Iruka-sensei talked about this one time… I didn't think that it would be this intense.'_ "E-Excuse me… Hokage-sama… I'm… I'm still down here…" Shika struggled to talk, because every word he spoke, he felt pressure on his jaw, specifically around the joints, like it was going to be yanked off of his head.

Sarutobi looked down and saw Shikamaru on the ground. He gasped and cut his K.I immediately. "Are you okay Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru gasped for air and stared at the ground for a moment, then stood up and dusted himself off like nothing happened. "I'm fine, Hokage-sama. I apologize for phrasing my words the way I did, but I had to be sure that you weren't using Naruto in some way. Granted, I'm using him as well, but it's a fair exchange thing."

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at Shikamaru. "What are you using hm for Shikamaru…? And do note that I will know when you lie."

Shikamaru scolded himself from his slip of the tongue. It had started that way, and only lasted for a few moments before he actually just wanted to help Naruto and needed an excuse for it. So he said that.

The hokage sighed in relief and then rubbed his temples. "Good… I thought that you've been using Naruto this whole time. It's good to see that isn't the case for once."

Shikamaru took note of that, but didn't say anything. He then walked over to the Hokage, and set down a scroll. He opened it to reveal writing. His father taught him that if there was anything he needed to convey in secret to the Hokage, he needed to write it down. 'Naruto's learning has been sabotaged. His tests have been swapped with material we learn much later in the year, he wasn't taught the correct way to perform the Leaf Concentration Method, his Taijutsu is also incorrect, and his kunai and shuriken bukijutsu is sub-par, due a combination of unbalanced weapons and incorrect technique. Though even with those handicaps, he learned how to launch them correctly when I showed him how to once, and his accuracy has increased dramatically, though he's still using the unbalanced weapons because he is afraid to cause a scene. I would watch Mizuki-sensei for a few days when he works with Naruto.'

The Hokage read the scroll and then sighed. "Shikaku taught you that, didn't he?"

Shikamaru nodded. "He taught me strategy through shogi and the art of laziness. Though I seem to be straying from the path of the lazy man recently."

' _He shifted the topic quickly, diverting the attention from the scroll. Shikaku really taught him well.'_ The Hokage nodded with a smile. "Of course he did. The laziness from the men in the Nara clan is taught from father to son after all." He slipped Shikamaru a small note. 'Thank you for bringing this to my attention. What would you like your reward to be? Nothing that a Genin couldn't get their hands on.'

Shikamaru smiled. "Yeah. I've been told that it helps to _regenerate chakra_ , but I've figured out that it's just an excuse we tell our wives."

The Hokage smiled with a nod. "Okay. In that case, you are dismissed Shikamaru. Send in Naruto on your way out."

Shikamaru stepped away from the desk and bowed a bit. "Of course, Hokage-Sama." He then turned towards the door and opened it to see Naruto twiddling with his thumbs in a chair. "Naruto. The Hokage can see you now. I got to go home though, so take a day from training today and just… do whatever. I'm going to guess that you're going to plan grander pranks. Just… avoid the Nara clan this week. It's not really a good time for it, okay?"

Naruto nodded with a smile. "Got it Shika! Thanks for coming with me today."

Shikamaru sighed. "It was troublesome, but it was worth it, seeing the Hokage's office early. See you Monday!" He waved at Naruto as he walked off, and once he was out of Naruto's range of hearing, an Anbu Shunshined in front of him with a scroll.

"Your payment for your first mission, Nara-san." The Anbu, whose voice was altered, handed Shikamaru the scroll, and then Shunshined away.

Shikamaru looked at the scroll, then opened it. A blue window appeared in front of him before he could read it.

 **You have obtained a scroll for the skill [Chakra Regeneration]**

 **Would you like to learn this skill?**

 **[YES/NO]**

Shikamaru stared at the screen, then looked around to see that no one was looking at him, so he tapped the **YES** button. The scroll became black and then quickly flowed over Shikamaru's entire body, then faded a split second later. ' _That felt really odd.'_

 **You have learned the skill [Chakra Regeneration]!**

 **Chakra Regeneration** **(Passive/Active): LV: 1 EXP: 0.00%: The ability to recover Chakra in battle, and at an increased rate!**

 **Passively increases Chakra Regen by 1% of max Chakra**

 **When actively recovering Chakra, CP Regen is +4% of max CP**

 **10 CP gained for each hour spent actively recovering Chakra**

 **When actively recovering Chakra, the user must be immobile.**

He chuckled, then resumed his walk back to his compound. His thinking pose was just upgraded, and he liked it. ' _My training will be faster now. Thank you Hokage-sama.'_

* * *

Back with Naruto and Hiruzen, said Hokage was listening to Naruto about his new friend Shikamaru, and how he somehow made ramen better for him. The hokage chuckled with a smile. "Naruto, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to cut your story short, as this involves official business."

Naruto blinked, then sat down in the chair next to him. "What is it Jiji?"

Hiruzen began to sign off on an official document. "Well, it's come to my attention that you've been having a much harder time in class then the other students, and it's not just because you're sleeping in class."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that Jiji, but I've been getting better!"

Sarutobi nodded with a smile. "I've seen that too." He sighed a bit. "We're performing an anonymous interview of the teachers in the Academy except for Iruka. So, until then, I'm making Shikamaru your official tutor. He'll be doing the same thing he's been doing with you, except getting paid to do it. And I'm making you Shikamaru's tutor, seeing as you're the most advanced student when it comes to stealth, and I've seen that you're teaching him to do that."

Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "Well, we haven't started yet, because Shikamaru wants to get my grades up first, but when that happens, then you can make me… whatever that is Jiji!"

' _I was just using that as an excuse to give Naruto more money than I can…'_ The Hokage nodded and made a copy of the paper that he just signed and gave it to Naruto. "Give this to Shikamaru as soon as you can, and handle it with care. You can fold it, just don't tear it. You'll receive a D-rank mission pay for this, because you're acting on my wishes and no one can say otherwise."

Naruto nodded happily as he folded the paper. "Okay Jiji!" He stood up and ran out of the office. "I'll see you tomorrow Jiji! I promise not to do anything with your books!"

The hokage waited until the doors closed and then sighed heavily in relief. He opened a hidden compartment on his desk to reveal all of the Icha Icha books, signed by their author. "You're safe for another week my friends…"

The Anbu hidden in the office all sweatdropped at their Hokage's behavior. They all thought the same thing. ' _Pervert…'_ Though two thought that with jealousy for the Hokage having the signed copies of their own collections.

* * *

Shikamaru was walking by the training grounds, and saw various nin training. He found an empty one and sat down in his thinking pose. The leaf that he's had with him all day was pulled out of his pocket, and was then stuck to Shika's head. He was about to activate the skill related to the chakra exercise, but a window appeared before he could.

 **You have entered a dungeon instance! In here, special effects and enemies can be encountered where they normally cannot under normal circumstances.**

 **You have entered the 'Corrupted Glade' Dungeon Instance!**

Shikamaru groaned as he stood and cracked his neck. "And all I wanted was to relax. Okay then." He heard rustling in the bushes that appeared next to him and then jumped back to see a small flying...person, with spikes coming through their arms.

 **Corrupted Sylvan**

 **LVL: 5**

 **Mutated Pixie**

"O…kay." Shikamaru quickly made the rat hand sign and smirked. " **Kagemane no jutsu**!" His shadow shot from his feet and attached itself to the Pixie's. "Success." He watched as the Pixie fell from the air, as it was no longer able to flap its wings. Shikamaru glanced down at the Pixie's spikes, then lifted his arm to his side, which was mimicked by the pixie. He then forced her to drive the spikes in her arm into her skull, killing her. The body faded into purple wisps of energy, and what was left behind was bony spike and a few ryo.

 **You have gained 100 EXP!**

"Did… Did it drop items?" He ignored the window that popped up and picked up the Ryo. He stared at it for a moment, before sighing. "Well… it looks real."

 **You can store Items in your Inventory! Currency does not take up a slot of your inventory space.**

"What in Kami's name is an **Inventory**?" Shikamaru wanted to think about it, then saw a much different window appear in front of him. It was gridded, and there was an open space under the grid that said 'Ryo: 0'. He hesitantly put the ryo into the window, and saw that the zero became fifteen. He groaned and then picked up the spike and began to inspect it. It was decently well balanced, sharp enough to be a weapon.

 **A special skill has been uncovered through a special action!**

 **Through very close inspection of an Item, the skill [Observe] has been revealed!**

 **Observe** **(Passive/Active): LV:1 EXP 0.00%**

 **The ability to look past the surface of an object. This skill allows the user to see ally and enemy status pages, and quite possibly discern true intentions.**

 **Grants information of the target to the user.**

 **Passively allows the user to view Names, Titles, and Levels**

Shikamaru nodded and then looked at the bone spike. "It might be vocally activated as well. **Observe**." Just then, a window appeared above the spike. "Thank you."

 **Small Bone Spike**

 **Crafting item**

 **Used to create weapons made of bone.**

Shikamaru nodded and then cleared his throat. " **Crafting**." Just then, another window appeared in front of Shikamaru, with only two boxes. He saw the box for the small bone spike on the left and then moved it over to the first box. In the second box was a bundle of senbon. It was listed as 'Bone Senbon(5)' and the chances for making it were 60%. Shikamaru saw a button that said 'CRAFT' in the bottom right corner and pressed it. The spike disappeared from his hand and after a minute, the words 'SUCCESS' covered the crafting screen.

 **[Craft] has gained a level!**

 **You have gained 5 Bone Senbon!**

Shikamaru then pulled the Bone Senbon from his Inventory and smiled. "At least I have weapons now. But I'll need a lot more before I can do anything with them." He placed the senbon in an empty weapons pouch on his side that his mother made him wear. "Time to go hunting." He groaned at his words and then walked deeper into the forest.

* * *

It had taken Shikamaru a while, but using the same method he used with the first Pixie, he had gained a level with his **Kagemane** , four in **[Crafting]** , and sixty more bone senbon. He was sitting in his thinking pose, allowing his CP to regenerate quickly as well. "Okay… I have enough senbon to use them as weapons now, but I've never used them before. Hopefully my **[Throwing Weapon Mastery]** will help with that, but I need to be able to get my hands on some kunai. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a larger bone spike I can make one. This is so troublesome…" He shook his head and then saw that his CP was high enough for now. He stood up, then heard a shrill scream. Shika turned his head and then rushed towards the scream, and saw Ami inside of the dungeon, about to be attacked by… something.

 **Corrupted Sylvan**

 **LVL: 8**

 **Infected Satyr**

Shikamaru scowled and then threw three senbon at the Satyr. One hit the ground, another bounced off of its horn, but the third hit it in its neck. He quickly performed the hand signs for the **Kawarimi** and replaced himself with the senbon that had hit the ground and hit the Satyr in the face, knocking it back. "Ami! What are you doing here?!"

Ami's eyes were wide, and she was too scared to say anything.

Shikamaru was about to look back at the girl, but then cursed and replaced himself with a log. He saw the log get speared by the horns, but it was now covering the sharp parts of the horns. It was worth the 114 CP cost for log replacement. He then swept the legs of the Satyr out from under it and then planted a knee on its throat. Shikamaru grabbed a bundle of bone senbon from his weapons pouch, and drove all of them deep into the right eye of the monster. The satyr thrashed for a good while as Shika tried to drive the needles deeper. Soon, the thrashing stopped and the Satyr's body faded, taking the senbon with him, leaving two horns and a small stack of Ryo.

 **You have gained 250 EXP**

 **[Kawarimi no Jutsu] has gained a level!**

Shika quickly took the ryo so that Ami wouldn't ask questions, then grabbed the horns, and saw that he could make goat horn kunai from them. So he did, and lucky for him, both horns became kunai. He tested their balance, and then nodded. He'd be using them as close range weapons, like he planned, but he had to be sure.

Ami slowly recovered from her shock, and then stared at Shikamaru. "D-Did you just… kill that thing?"

Shikamaru nodded as he recovered the two senbon that didn't hit damage the monster. "Yeah. I did."

Ami gulped and nodded softly. "T-Thank you. I thought that I was going to die…"

Shikamaru looked back at Ami and looked at her title again. "It's not for free, but I just want a real answer in exchange."

Ami blinked, then nodded softly. "W-What do you want to know…?"

Shikamaru sat down and entered his thinking position. "Why are you a bully? Well, let me rephrase that. What makes you bully other kids?"

Ami thought for a minute. It had been a while since she actually thought about why she bullied people. "Well… I was always made fun of for being an orphan. I just thought that… it was fair that I do the same to other people… at first. Then, I just couldn't stop. I kept being pushed by my friends to do it, and… it's just out of control now."

Shikamaru looked up and then saw Ami's title change.

 **Unwilling Bully**

 **LVL: 5**

 **Ami Chinoike**

Shikamaru nodded and then began to regenerate his Chakra. "In that case, give me a few minutes, and we can get going."

Ami was shocked at how accommodating the Nara boy was. "We? You mean that I can come with you?"

Shikamaru groaned. "Troublesome… I just said that, yes. You can come with me Ami-san. Take a kunai."

Ami nodded and grabbed a kunai from Shikamaru. "Thank you again."

"Don't mention it. Please. I have a reputation for being lazy to maintain."

* * *

"Are we lost?" Ami looked around the forest as they walked, clutching the kunai close to her.

Shikamaru sighed and nodded. "Yep. We've been lost for a while." ' _Is there some sort of_ _ **Map**_ _that comes with t-'_ A map appeared in front of Shikamaru, and it showed a mostly black window, with a white arrow thing that was at the edge of the blackness. Behind the arrow was an aerial view of the forest. Next to the white arrow was a smaller green arrow. Shikamaru turned and the white arrow turned with him. ' _Thank you. So I'm the white arrow. That means that Ami is the green one next to me.'_ He looked over the map and saw another green arrow north east of them, and it became yellow. _Or maybe the color is their health and arrows mean allies!'_ He dashed in the direction of the arrow.

Ami quickly followed Shikamaru, not wanting to be alone in this weird forest.

Shikamaru soon saw Naruto dodging attacks from an Infected Satyr and a tree thing.

 **Corrupted Sylvan**

 **LV: 13**

 **Blighted Dryad**

He formed the rat seal and his shadow shot towards the Dryad, but it instead hit the Satyr. "Ami! Take care of the one I trapped!"

Ami nodded hesitantly, then ran over to the Satyr and saw that it was looking up, straining the skin on its neck. She grabbed a horn of the Satyr, then closed her eyes as she slit its throat, black blood beginning to flow down its body, before fading like the other one did. She then picked up the horns, and saw a stack of ryo on the ground. She grabbed that as well and dropped them near Shikamaru, knowing that he could make use of them.

Shikamaru nodded at Ami and took the horns. "Ask your questions when we get out of here." He quickly crafted two kunai. "Naruto! Catch!" He threw both of them at Naruto.

 **[Crafting] has gained a level!**

Naruto grinned at Shikamaru when his friend threw weapons at him. He caught the kunai from the air and blocked the next strike the Dryad aimed at him. "My turn, 'ttebayo!" He pushed the tree thing off away from him and then rushed towards the clawed thing. He glanced at Shikamaru, and saw that he wanted the Dryad closer, so Naruto ducked under a claw swipe of the thing, and then began to push the dryad towards Shikamaru.

Shikamaru glanced at his CP, then figured that he had enough to be able to hold the Dryad long enough for Naruto and Ami to kill it. ' _Now!'_ " **Kagemane no jutsu!** " His shadow shot forward again and merged with the Dryads, making it immobile. "I can't hold it for long! Both of you, take care of it!

Ami nodded and rushed towards the plant creature and began attacking it from behind, blood-like sap coming from it. She kept attacking it, not pausing, even when she could feel shards of wood cutting her hands.

Naruto grinned and then began to unleash a flurry of slashes, really happy that Shikamaru corrected his forms now. They all felt much more natural then the ones the teachers taught him to use, and it also allowed him to attack faster, apparently. This was the first time he's had a chance to actually use the corrected forms against something.

Shikamaru kept watching his CP drain away, still trying to keep the Dryad immobile. He then noticed the claws that it had, and noted that they were longer than his fingers, so he held a one handed sign to keep the jutsu up, and then made the Dryad stab itself in the chest. He then had it tear open its chest. "If there's anything beating in there Naruto, stab it!"

Naruto quickly looked inside of the Dryad's chest and then found a beating circle thing that had four large roots coming from the top of it. He stabbed it with both kunai, then cut through it, the 'blood' of the dryad beginning to spill from it. Soom he dryad began to fade and a large slab of wood and some ryo was all that remained of the enemy.

 **You have gained 550 EXP!**

Shikamaru dropped to his knees, panting heavily. He checked his CP and saw that it was nearly empty. He looked at the ryo on the ground and pocketed it, making it go into his Inventory. He saw Naruto run over to him carrying the items, then crouched in front of Shikamaru. "Are you okay dude?"

Shikamaru looked at the slab of wood.

 **Mystic Wood**

 **Crafting item**

 **Used to make armors of wood.**

 **[Observe] has gained a level!**

Shikamaru nodded softly and then got up, still trying to catch his breath. "What about you? You looked pretty banged up when we got here." He pulled Naruto up to his feet, then looked at the wood again. "I think I can make something out of this."

Ami walked over to the two and sighed. "Well… we're safe, I think." She also looked at the wooden thing. "You think that you can make some armor from that? I mean, you made weapons, so…"

Shikamaru nodded and took the wood. He saw that there were two boxes on the material side of the crafting menu. He placed the wood in one of the boxes and saw that he could make bracers from it, but there was also an arrow. He tapped the arrow and saw that he could make a chest plate from it as well. Though with the chestplate, there was red text under the material boxes.

 **Your Crafting level is not high enough!**

 **You have not seen this type of armor before!**

He then sighed and made the bracers. The wood disappeared and then two pieces of wrist armor appeared. "Here. It's what I could make with this."

Naruto was amazed. "How did you do that Shika? Huh? Is it a bloodline thingy?"

Shikamaru looked at Naruto, then shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I just figured out that I could do it today." He then set them on the ground and took the ryo. "I'll hold onto the ryo for now, you two decide who gets the bracers." He placed the ryo in his inventory and then went back to regaining his chakra.

Naruto and Ami stared at each other for a moment, then Naruto backed away. "Take them. I heal fast anyways, and I have a feeling that you need them."

Ami's eye twitched at the unintentional hit against her pride. "Thanks…" She grabbed the bracers and they immediately shrank to fit her perfectly. She put the armor one and smiled at how comfortable they were.

Shikamaru was still thinking. ' _Now that we have Naruto, things got a little easier. There are three people in our group. Naruto will charge in anyways, so that means Ami and I will have to support him. I can take control of the enemies if Naruto gets them close enough. Now that Ami has armor, she can block attacks with her arms, but she should stay away from the stronger enemies because of her level and her hesitation to kill that Satyr. I wonder how long we've been in here._ _**Dungeon Info**_ '

 **You are in the Corrupted Glade!**

 **You have been in here for 1:37:28**

' _Oh. I thought that were in here much longer than that.'_ Shikamaru stood and then heard some trees cracking in the distance. "That… can't be good." He turned towards the sound and readied his kunai.

 **Killing Intent detected! In front of you, 10 meters away!**

Shikamaru jumped back to the group. "Get ready. Something big is coming."

Naruto nodded and held his two kunai tightly.

Ami also stared in the direction that Shikamaru was looking at, waiting for whatever was coming to show up.

A few minutes later, a very large tree beast burst through the trees, and roared at them. Purple sludge leaked from what counted as its mouth. It then lumbered at them and tried to attack them.

The three academy students dodged out of the way of the crushing strike the giant creature, and then scattered.

 **BOSS CREATURE ENCOUNTERED!**

 **Ancient Corruption**

 **LV: 18**

 **Infested Treant**

Shikamaru sized up the creature. "Okay, it's slow, but I'm sure that it makes up for it in strength. It'll have a lot of health, and it might be too large for my **Kagemane** to work as it is right now. But I can try." He rushed towards the Treant and then activated his clan's jutsu, his shadow merging with the very large creatures. He tried to move its arms, but he felt it beginning to break free when he moved. "Dammit! Naruto, Ami! I can only hold it still! I'll try to find a weakness, for now, just attack it!"

Naruto nodded and then jumped up the body of the monster and began to attack its head. It didn't really have eyes, so he couldn't attack those. He gasped as he saw purple goop bleed through a deep cut he made, and then he jumped off of the Treant. "If you cut it to deep, it makes this purple goop!"

Ami nodded and saw vines on the Treant. She attacked those and soon cut through one, making more of that purple stuff bleed from it. When it touched the grass, the grass withered and died in seconds. "Don't touch the purple stuff! It'll kill you!" She felt fear beginning to fill her mind at the thought of death, but she shook it away. She had to focus. She could panic later.

Shikamaru gritted his teeth in effort, which surprised him more than it would surprise Naruto. "I can't hold it! Get back!" He cut the jutsu suddenly, and immediately retreated from the monster.

The treant stumbled and fell at the sudden lack of 'strings' on it, making it fall. A purple gem came was revealed on the back of its head when it fell. The gem glowed ominously.

Naruto saw this and then jumped on top of the treant's back and was about to strike the gem, when he was whipped away by one of the large vines growing from the back of the treant.

Ami ran over to the treant and then began to attack one of the vines. It didn't seem to care though. Ami cut the vine off and then backed away before any of that purple liquid could get on her.

Shikamaru muttered 'troublesome' and then threw five senbon at the treant, and replaced himself with one and then stabbed his kunai into the gem.

The treant roared and then grabbed Shikamaru and threw him across the battle area and hard into a tree. It quickly got up, the gem and the kunai imbedded in it sinking back into its head. It turned to Naruto and swiped its claw at him again, the whiskered blond dodging his attack.

Ami and Naruto both ran over to the downed Shikamaru and helped him to stand. Ami then looked at the vine that was still on the ground and ran towards it.

Naruto ran after her to draw the attention of the treant so Ami could do what she needed to do.

Shikamaru waited for his pain to fade and then looked at his HP.

 **HP: 200/650**

 **[Physical Endurance] has gained a level!**

He shook his head and then saw what Ami was trying to do. He ran over to her and then grabbed the other side of the vine and began to wrap it around its legs. When they finished, they both pulled as hard as they could and slowly pulled the treants legs together. "Naruto, bait it away!"

Naruto nodded and then began to run away from the treant. "See you later bark face!"

The treant tried to chase after Naruto, but tripped over its own feet and fell again with a roar. The gem emerged from the back of the treant's head again, the kunai still stuck in it.

Shikamaru didn't want to draw this out any longer, so he rushed towards the kunai and then used every ounce of his strength to push it deeper. He twisted the kunai sharply, causing the gem to crack violently, then he yanked the kunai out and stabbed it again. He looked back at the vines to see Naruto and Ami severing them. He twisted the kunai again, then scowled. He stood up and then stomped on the kunai as hard as he could, making it disappear into the treant's skull, the gem now shattered. He jumped off of the Treant and he saw it beginning to wither and dissolve, purple wisps only floating away after the body withered completely.

 **You have gained 1500 EXP!**

 **You have gained a level!**

 **You have completed Stage One of the Corrupted Glade! Would you like to continue?**

 **[YES/NO]**

Shikamaru immediately pressed the **NO** button as hard as he could. He then walked over to where the Treant was and saw a large stack of ryo, claws, and a scroll. He took the ryo and gained 2000 more, which he thought was great. The next was the scroll, and he **Observed** that quickly.

 **Tree Walking Method scroll**

 **Skill scroll**

 **A scroll that teaches the Tree walking method to whoever consumes it**

' _That would've come in handy when we fought this thing…'_ He then observed the claws and was impressed.

 **Claws of the Dryad**

 **Dual Claw Weapons**

 **Designed by an ancient blacksmith who was inspired by the Dryads, he spoke to the leader and obtained mystical wood from the clan of the Dryads. He made them into claws, and the wooden blades he crafted onto them fused with the metal he had set near them. This was the end result.**

 **12 - 21 Slashing damage**

 **Has a 11% chance to inflict [Bleeding] on a target**

 **Can be repaired by dipping the claws in metal**

Shikamaru held the claws and then sighed. They didn't feel right to him. "Naruto, try the claws. See if they just feel right to you."

Naruto nodded and then grabbed the claws. He slashed a couple of times with them and then shook his head. "Nope. Sorry." He then handed the claws to Ami. "Give them a try!"

Ami hesitantly took the claws, and then slashed with one. She smiled. "Do you mind if I keep these?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "If you want them, take them. Oh, and Naruto and I meet on the roof of the Academy every day after school. You fought with us, it's only fair I offer you the choice to improve as well."

Ami tied the claws together on her pants with the two vines that were on the handles of the claws. "I'll come by I guess. I just need to make an excuse to get away from my group."

Shikamaru nodded and then pulled out two stack of Ryo from his pockets. He did some quick math in his head and he guessed that they both counted at 782 Ryo. "Here you go. Like I said, we split the Ryo."

Naruto hesitantly grabbed his stack of Ryo. "Are you sure Shika?"

Shikamaru nodded quietly.

Ami grabbed hers and then put her ryo in her wallet, glad that it was only a small stack. Though she was still surprised that those monsters dropped money.

Shikamaru then held up the scroll. "Do you guys mind if I hold onto this scroll for now? I just need to see if this is the real technique written in here." When neither of his companions protested, he placed the scroll into his Inventory.

 **Would you like to leave this dungeon instance?**

 **[YES/NO]**

Shikamaru immediately pressed YES and the the forest faded around them to reveal that they were in the same spot Shikamaru was sitting at in the training ground. He stood up and then went to leave the training ground, but was caught by Ami.

"Hey! You said that you'd explain what the hell that was when we got out!"

Shikamaru sighed and then sat down again. ' _This whole month has been the most troublesome month of my life.'_

* * *

 **Hello everyone! I am back for this one post. Let me explain why it's only this one. I can really only write on the weekends, seeing as the school year started while I was on hiatus. I recently switched to online learning and have been trying to adapt to the schedule. I think I've done it well enough to be able to get a chapter out every now and then, but I can't promise anything. I'm also not at 100% just yet when it comes to writing. I honestly have no excuse for that. ANyways, I hope that you all enjoyed this first chapter of Troublesome Games! Ja ne!**


	2. Snake Bribery

**Tired…**

 **Shika: Sleep then.**

 **No. Have to write. Too tired to write an author's note so I'm just going to start the chapter. Reviews will be at the end. Thank you for reading and enjoy.**

* * *

"Speech"

' _Thought'_

" _Telepathy"_

 **"** _ **Bijuu"**_

 **"Jutsu"**

 **Windows/Skills**

* * *

He told them everything he knew about his power. It was too troublesome to not tell them. Told them the skills, the stat points, everything. "So, there it is. I've had this power for about a month, and I've been improving myself so that I can get Naruto out of his position of Dobe of the class. It turned into a quest." While that wasn't exactly true, it was close enough.

Ami and Naruto stared at Shikamaru, completely silent.

Shika looked at the two, then sighed. "I don't know how to prove it to you. As far as I know, I can't party with you or anything. I researched a bit on games and that's a common feature in RPGs, which this power seems to be based on.

 **Group abilities are currently unavailable until you reach Genin.**

He looked at the window and sighed again. "Okay then."

The two were still silent.

"...You two going to say anything?"

Naruto poked Shikamaru's forehead. "Can you store Ramen in your Inventory?"

Shikamaru blinked at Naruto's random question. "Most likely. Why?"

Naruto grinned and then sat back. "Because the villager-teme's keep stealing my food! I mean, Ramen is the food of the gods and all, but why would they steal that?"

Ami looked at Naruto, momentarily distracted by the whole superpower talk. "What do you mean by that?"

Naruto looked at Ami. "I mean that the villagers come in and steal my food when I'm at the Academy."

Ami clutched the claws Shikamaru gave her tightly. "Those bastards! I swear I'll-"

Shikamaru looked at Ami. "You'll what? Go on a rampage and kill every villager you can before the Anbu get you? Turn into another martyr like Itachi Uchiha? If you want to get people to stop doing this, then we need to be smart about it, and subtle."

Naruto looked at Shikamaru again. "You're going to help me Shika? How?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I have no clue. I'll think of something, and it'll probably have something to do with the Hokage."

Naruto thought for a minute, then had a look of realization on his face. "Oh! Right! Jiji asked me to give you this!" He pulled a neatly folded paper out of a pocket on his kill-me-orange cargo pants and handed it to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru took the paper and unfolded it to see the Hokage's order. He groaned as he stored it in his Inventory. "Troublesome… alright then. Apparently, I'm your tutor now Naruto, so why don't you two come over to my clan's compound and we can get started." He stood up and dusted off the wood chips on his clothes. "If you feel like coming, meet me there in two hours." He then left the two orphans sitting there to weigh their options.

* * *

The Hokage snarled as he looked at the proposal from the council to make Naruto into a Ne Anbu. Something unfeeling, a tool. They just see him as another weapon, like a goddamn kunai. He channeled fire chakra into the paper and watched it burn, the real fire masking the burning hatred in his eyes. "Neko. Go fetch Koharu and Homura. Now."

A purple haired Anbu stepped out of the shadows silently, bowed, and disappeared.

Sarutobi looked into a corner behind him. "Yamato. If they so much as mention Naruto as a demon, execute them on the spot."

Yamato stepped out of the shadows to nod, then faded back into darkness.

Sarutobi waited patiently, the scent of burning paper filling the room, even though the atmosphere was ice cold. He glared at the entrance, waiting for those two walk in the door.

Neko appeared next to Sarutobi. "Homura-san and Koharu-san have elected to ignore your summons."

The atmosphere in the room became much colder, enough to make Neko shiver. Sarutobi looked up at Neko. "Then drag them here. Break a limb if you have to get your point across, but they are not to refuse their Hokage's orders."

Neko disappeared again with a nod. She soon returned with two elders, one clutching their bleeding hand.

Homura glared at Sarutobi. "What is the meaning of this Hiruzen?! Why have you called us here?!"

Sarutobi slammed his hands on the desk and directed his KI towards the two elders. "DO NOT SPEAK TO YOUR HOKAGE THAT WAY!" He watched as they tried to breathe, and failed. Their old age and lack of training after the war has weakened his former teammates. "You dare propose that a child be taken into the Ne Anbu, then have the audacity to refuse my summons?!" He hated acting like this, but sometimes it was necessary. Like when his former comrades plotted against him.

Koharu struggled to find her breath but eventually gathered enough air in her lungs to be able to speak. "Of… of course not...Hokage-sama…"

Sarutobi lightened his KI enough for his two other advisors to be able to breathe. "Very well… care to explain your… _suggestion_ …?"

Homura put more pressure on his bleeding and broken hand and then nodded slightly. "Of course Hokage-sama… we merely thought that the demon's abilities could b-" He didn't get much farther in his explanation, as a kunai that came from the shadows impaled him through the eye.

The Hokage glared at Koharu as he heard Homura's body fall onto the floor next to the old woman. "As Homura was saying…?"

Koharu began to shiver in fright, as she realized that her life was in danger. "W-We believed that the boy's skills would develop much faster if we recruit him into the Ne Anbu."

Hiruzen nodded softly. "Well then, I'm afraid that the answer is no, and you are dismissed. Tell Danzo that he won't get another puppet. Anbu" He looked at the bleeding corpse of the traitor. "Clean this shit up." He watched as the Anbu sealed the corpse and the blood into a scroll and then took it away to dispose of it. He also watched Koharu nearly run out of the room. Once both of them were gone, he sighed heavily and held his head, the pressure in the room disappearing, and the frost on the walls going away. "I need a vacation…or at least a trip to the hot springs…" He suppressed a perverse giggle and looked at the phantom pile of paperwork that he would have to sign due to killing Homura. He leaned forward and rested his head against the desk. ' _Why did you leave me to do all of this paperwork Minato…?'_

* * *

Shikamaru was laying in the grass on a hill in his compound. He was staring up at the clouds, finally getting a chance to catch up on his cloud watching. It seems that the game was merciful and allowed him this one luxury, not automatically analyzing the sky for him. He heard the grass shifting behind him as someone walked towards him. He looked back and saw the name and title of someone that he sees every day.

 **Puppeteer of Shadows**

 **Nara Shikaku**

 **LVL: ?**

He actually saw that title on a lot of people in his clan, likely because of their abilities. "Hey, Tou-san. What's up?"

Shikaku laid down next to Shikamaru. "Naruto and a girl are at the gates. They say that they're here to see you." He sighed as he looked up at the clouds. "The clouds are nice today, eh?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah. They are…" He laid there for a few more minutes, before getting up and walking to the front of the compound. He glanced at the guards, then opened the gate for the two. "Hey there. It looks like you two decided to show up after all. Follow me." He led Naruto and Ami through the compound, ignoring their questions for now and tempted to use his **Kagemane** to keep them from wandering off. Soon the three entered the clan's training grounds, to see that it was devoid of life.

Ami looked around the training ground. "Where is everyone? This is a big clan, why is this place empty?"

Naruto snickered softly. "Probably lazing around the compound."

Shikamaru nodded. "Exactly right Naruto. Now then." He got into a relaxed taijutsu stance. It looked like it was a slightly modified academy style. "Show me what you two can do. One at a time though. And no weapons."

Naruto and Ami looked at each other, then nodded. Naruto stepped into a textbook academy taijutsu stance and smirked at Shikamaru, before rushing at him and throwing a test punch at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru stepped out of the way of the punch before wrapping his arm around Naruto's outstretched limb and using his other arm to jab into Naruto's shoulder joint. He released the blonde and pushed him away. "You kept your arm out too long. Try something else. Think outside the box. I've studied every stance in that taijutsu book, and every move that you can make with them. That's how I was able to teach you it so easily Naruto."

Naruto nodded as he thought for a second, then nodded again as he got out of the Academy stance and smirked.

Shikamaru nodded and then lashed out at Naruto, putting minimal force in each strike so that he didn't hurt Naruto.

Naruto dodged each attack, seemingly with ease and became more deceptive as his inner prankster began to come out. He flipped away from a low sweep that Shikamaru tried to get him with, landed on his hands and then launched himself at Shikamaru, trying to drop kick him.

Shikamaru grabbed onto Naruto's feet, then spun him around as he pushed the blonde away from him. He then relaxed, even more, his movements becoming more fluid. "Good. Keep doing that from now on instead of the academy style. But adapt your fighting style with the Academy one."

Naruto landed on his hands again, spun around on them, and pushed off of the ground to land on his feet. "Got it Shikamaru! I'm glad that I can switch back now!"

Shikamaru smirked and then looked at Ami. "Your turn."

Ami nodded and walked over to Shikamaru slowly, then snapped into a modified Academy stance. It was much different than Shikamaru's adaptation, relaxed, yet tensed. Like a snake, if you were to compare her to an animal.

Shikamaru blinked and then nodded as he rolled his shoulders.

Ami slowly got closer, then suddenly lashed out at Shikamaru with a flurry of quick strikes, then retreated slightly.

Shikamaru dodged most of them but still felt some hit him in the arms, in the ribs, and the stomach. He cracked his neck and began to analyze Ami's movements. They were fluid, but her muscles were tense. He waited for her to tense up even more. When she did, he deflected her first strike and hit her in the solar plexus with his elbow.

Ami fell back and began coughing after a second. She took a deep breath, then began to breathe normally. "W-What… What was that?"

Shikamaru helped Ami to her feet and patted her on the back. "I hit you hard enough in the solar plexus to force the air out of your lungs and disabled you for a moment. But I would only need a moment to finish you off. None of us are ready for the life of a ninja. But with enough time we will be. Or… we'll at least be able ready to be Gennin. All of the money I get from me tutoring Naruto will go into training us. Agreed?"

Naruto blinked a bit. "But… how will you get money Shika? If you're spending it on us, how will you get anything?"

Shikamaru smiled. "We'll be going into that place again. Where we fought the tree monster. It was called a Treant, by the way. We'll go in there every week to test our abilities and get some Ryo on the side. It'll be the same, we split the total earned Ryo three ways, and decide who gets stuff if we get anything special."

Ami held her claws up and smiled again. "I wonder how much a sheath for this will cost."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Probably won't cost all that much, considering that you'll just be getting a sheath for your claws. Or I can just put them in my Inventory to hold onto and make training claws for you, so they aren't taken from you."

Ami nodded and then handed Shikamaru the claws, who stored them in his Inventory. "So, what do we do now?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I guess we train. Since I can see your weaknesses faster because of my ability, I'll observe you, correct any mistakes in the training that could hamper you, and help you fix it to get stronger." He walked over to a calendar and checked the date. "So the school year ends in two months. Let's make this happen."

* * *

Over the course of the next month, Shikamaru helped Naruto and Ami with their forms, mostly Ami for the first week of training as she was taught a much less effective way to train. Likely because the teacher who taught the girls their forms were sexist assholes. Or, that was the curriculum for female students. He didn't know. Though by the end of that week, she had a very good grasp on the training forms that were effective. To cap off the week, they were going to participate in Stealth training but got Naruto some clothes fitting of a shinobi instead. He insisted on getting orange, so they got him black pants with dark orange stripes on the sides, and a pure black shirt. They also got him some fingerless gloves and new sandals. They burned the jumpsuit that day. Naruto wept.

Shikamaru then made a schedule for the three of them that they would follow. They would study in the mornings before school and during lunch, and after school, they would train. They spent an hour perfecting the academy forms and then adapting those forms into a style that suited them better. After they worked on their forms, they worked on the three academy Jutsu that they needed to pass their classes. It didn't take long for Shikamaru to figure out why Naruto couldn't do the Bunshin. He had a lot more Chakra than him or Ami combined. So instead he had Naruto focus on the other two while Shika looked for a substitute for Naruto. After they practiced the Academy ninjutsu, he had them work on a skill of their choice. For Ami, it was her claws, and for Naruto, he chose to get better at the leaf concentration to get better Chakra Control. Shikamaru practiced with his Kagemane to get the possession cost lower. On Saturdays, the neglected the skill of choice for stealth training, which Naruto schooled them in.

Every Sunday, they would enter the Corrupted Glade dungeon to gather materials and Ryo, but mostly to test their skills against live targets. At first, Naruto didn't want to kill the pixies or the satyrs, but when they tried to kill him, he stopped regretting it. Each time they entered, they cleared it faster, learning the attack patterns of the monsters and how to kill them faster. It eventually became too easy. Shikamaru made more equipment out of the loot they got from the monsters, but to his disappointment, the game updated at the end of the third week. It had removed the Crafting window, and the skill now required tools and time to make things, which was fair in Shika's eyes. Preparation is another aspect of a Shinobi, and he can't just go making things in the field.

The end of the month came fast though, as they were all caught up in either studying, training, or fighting in the dungeon, they didn't really have time for socialization. Shika would really have to make it up to Chouji for not hanging out with him. Though it was a good excuse to practice cooking. Even though he had no clue that he would get a skill for it. So at the end of the month, Shika had gained three points in STR, five points in VIT, two in DEX, seven in INT, two in WIS, and five in LUK. He still didn't really know what the last stat did, and the game wouldn't tell him. He had also gained the **[Stealth]** and **[Cooking]** skills and leveled them up to eight and four respectively. He reached Level 20 in his Academy style Taijutsu, and it locked at that. He was confused until the game told him that to progress Taijutsu more, he would have to evolve it into a more advanced style. The Kagemane reached Level fifteen and slowed immensely from there, likely because he needed to learn a new technique first, but he kept his training a secret.

His Academy Jutsu's all reached Level twenty in the final week of the month, though the training for them slowed as well. His Dagger and Throwing Weapon mastery skills reached thirteen and sixteen, but the real improvements were to his **[Leaf Concentration]** and his **[Chakra Regeneration]** skills. Shika kept a leaf stuck to him every second that he was awake, so he was able to train that fast, but when he was in class, he activated his chakra regeneration after sticking two more leaves on him. He was able to reach level 31 with the Chakra control method, and level ten with the Regeneration method. He thought that his Chakra capacity would increase as well, but that ability was weakened to 5 CP every hour, which was troublesome.

Naruto slapped Shikamaru on the back hard, taking him out of his concentrated state. "Oi! Shika! Didn't you hear what I said?"

Shikamaru looked at his schedule. "I'm sorry Naruto, what did you say?"

A grey-haired cyclops sneezed on the other side of the village.

Naruto sighed. "I said that Jiji wants to see you! And Ami for some reason!"

Shika sighed and stood up. "Troublesome… alright Naruto, I'll meet you there. Bring Ami with you."

Naruto gave Shikamaru a mock salute, then grinned as he ran off to find Ami.

Shikamaru sighed and then began to walk to the Hokage's tower. During his walk, he looked around to see people glaring at him. Probably for helping Naruto, if he had to take a wild guess. He didn't care though. It's not like he was going to be Hokage or anything. He didn't need the support of the village to lead. He froze as he felt his **[Detect Intent]** skill go off. He looked at the window and saw that it was Killing Intent. But it wasn't strong enough to force him to stop. Shikamaru continued walking like nothing had happened when he was subjected to it again. Shikamaru smirked as he kept walking, then became annoyed by it. "Okay, you above me, on the roofs to my right. What the hell do you want?"

Sasuke jumped down from the roofs and landed in front of Shikamaru in a crouching position. "Fight me."

Shikamaru picked his ears lazily. "Why should I? I have an important meeting with the Hokage to get to, and you're in the way. So if you could move, that'd be much less troublesome."

Sasuke growled and threw a kunai at Shikamaru, then smirked. "I said fight me. That's an order from an Uchiha. You'd be wise to listen."

Shikamaru caught the kunai and then tossed it lazily at Sasuke's feet. "I'm sorry, but wasn't your clan wiped out? Guess there are no more Uchiha. Except for Itachi. Wonder what happened to that guy."

Sasuke growled louder, picked up the kunai, and then rushed towards Shikamaru. "DO NOT SPEAK HIS NAME!"

Shikamaru stepped out of the way and tripped Sasuke. "Thanks for moving. Later." He waved at Sasuke as he walked away.

Sasuke grabbed two more kunai and then threw them at Shikamaru, aiming for his spine.

Shikamaru sighed and then rolled to the side to dodge them. "Honestly, you should stop now. You'll hurt a civilian, and last I checked, that's against the law. What does it fall under? Murder without cause? Kinda like Itachi huh?"

 **A skill has been discovered!**

 **By messing with the minds of your opponents, you have gained the skill [Taunt]**

 **Taunt** **(Active): LVL: 1 EXP: 0.00%: You know what this does.**

 **10% chance of an enemy shifting its attention on the user when used.**

 **Inflicts target with the status effect [Rage] when successful.**

Sasuke roared in anger and rushed towards Shikamaru again, a very sharp kunai in his hand, ready to strike. He suddenly froze. "What...is this?!"

Shikamaru smirked as he held his hands in the symbol of the rat. "Kagemane possession successful." He shifted his stance to a more casual one which Sasuke mimicked. "I have full control of your limbs. For instance, I could just take my hand and raise it to my throat." He held a phantom kunai in his hands and pressed it against his throat, which made Sasuke do the same. "And if I wanted, I could just drag my hand across my throat, and then… no more Uchiha." He saw the fear in Sasuke's eyes. He held that position for a moment longer, then when a small droplet of blood fell from the tip of the Uchiha's kunai, he dropped the jutsu. "But I won't. I'm not a senseless killer." He then began to walk away again.

Sasuke held his throat for a moment, then rushed towards Shikamaru again. "How dare you make me bleed!" He went to stab Shika in the back.

Shikamaru grabbed a kunai from his Inventory that was in his pocket, and then pulled it out and blocked Sasuke's. "You really don't get it? No matter how bad you get hurt, I won't get in trouble. One, because you started this, and two, because you have no sway over what happens until you're an adult or a Chunin. You're just a Clan heir. Itachi is the clan head if you want to get technical." He then grabbed Sasuke's wrist and twisted it hard. "Look at you. Trying to kill someone over a paper cut. That's really all that is on your neck. You wouldn't get away with that, and you'd just be killing for no reason. Just like your brother." He then kicked Sasuke's left knee as hard as he could, hearing a bit of cracking.

Sasuke cried out and fell to his knees, his left knee possibly broken.

Shikamaru winced. "That looks pretty bad. You should probably hop to the hospital. Or hobble. Or crawl, because you aren't walking on that." He then released Sasuke's wrist and walked away.

 **[Taunt] has gained a level!**

Sasuke glared as he tried to get up, but his left knee protested by making him feel a lot of pain. The Uchiha then lifted his left leg slightly to relieve the pain and began to hop towards the hospital.

Shikamaru felt pretty good as he walked into the tower. He then saw Naruto and Ami sitting in chairs next to each other, chatting about something. He then watched as Naruto got up and ran over to Shika, and poked him hard in the chest.

"Shika! You're late!"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I'm not late. You never gave me a specific time to meet you here."

The white-haired cyclops shed a tear of joy. Somewhere, another person, possibly a student, gave someone else a really good excuse for being late to something. Makes a man proud.

Naruto sighed in defeat. "Fine… I guess you win this one."

Shikamaru smirked a bit. "Besides, I got into a fight with Sasuke."

Ami glanced over at Shikamaru. "You got into a fight with that prick? How'd it go?"

Naruto looked at Ami questioningly. "A-Aren't you one of her fangirls?"

Ami shrugged. "I was until I realized how much of a bastard he is to the group. I grew out of that phase just a bit ago anyways."

Shikamaru gave Ami a thumbs up and then sighed. "I think I broke a knee. Caught him in a Kagemane, then he tried to stab me from behind. I blocked it, thanks to both my gamer thing telling me the intent he had, plus his loud footsteps. Then I broke his knee. Maybe. It might've just been a fracture."

Naruto cheered loudly. "Awesome Shikamaru! You really put that Teme in his place!"

Just then the doors to the Hokage's office opened. "Naruto, Shikamaru, Ami, you may enter now."

Naruto basically dragged Shikamaru and Ami into the Hokage's office. "Hey, Jiji! Why did you want to see us?"

Hiruzen smiled as Naruto made himself and his friends known. "Well, I have decided that you three, seeing as you are the only ones in class taking training as seriously as actual Shinobi do, will be assigned a teacher that will pull you all out of school every day after History of Shinobi."

Naruto groaned loudly. "Jiji… why'd you make us keep that one…?"

Ami smiled. "Because everything after that is practical lessons, like Taijutsu and Physical training Naruto." She looked at the Hokage. "Does this mean that our instructor will be teaching us the practical lessons while Iruka-Sensei teaches us the other useless crap?"

Shikamaru sighed. "They aren't useless classes. They're there to give us rest and let us sleep through them, then learn more on our own time."

The Hokage deadpanned at the three children's reactions. He then cleared his throat. "Now then, she will be stopping by soon, so I suggest that you all prepare yourselves… as she can be a tad bit… eccentric."

Neko snickered in the corner of the office. ' _That's like saying Kakashi is just sort of lazy.'_

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he placed his hands in his pockets. "How eccentric are we talking here…?"

Just as the Hokage opened his mouth, the window shattered and in the chaos, a banner was placed and a purple haired woman with Shikamaru's hairstyle wearing very form fitting netted clothes under a very large and open coat. "The Great and Sexy Mitarashi Anko has arrived!"

Shikamaru's right eye twitched at the sight. ' _It's… like you made Naruto into a chick.'_ He could already tell that this woman would be troublesome.

Hiruzen groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Anko… why couldn't you just go through the door…?"

Anko walked over to the Hokage's desk. "Aww… I'm sorry… I'll be sure to make it up to you Ho-ka-ge-sa-ma~" She pushed her breasts out in front of her to increase her sex appeal.

Sarutobi cried out as he rocketed back with a nosebleed, and hit the back wall with enough force to embedded him in it. "T-Ten…"

Anko scoffed with a smirk. "Too easy. He really is just a dirty old pervert." She then looked down and to her right to see three kids just staring at her. "What? Is there something up my shorts?"

Shikamaru groaned as he looked away. "No. There's not. And that's the problem."

Anko grinned as she crouched down. "Well now. It looks like someone has been naughty, looking at other women like you have been!"

Shikamaru groaned again. "You're not going to bait me into this bit."

Anko huffed a bit. "Fine." She stood up straight and then placed her hands on her hips. "So you three are the brats that the Hokage wants me to torture!"

Ami paled. "D-Don't you mean train…?"

Anko started laughing hysterically. "I-Is that what he told you?!" She suddenly stopped laughing and looked down at them with a smile, a dark shadow over her face. "No, I mean torture. And I am going to enjoy every second of it!" She licked her lips creepily.

Naruto hid behind Shikamaru. "Hide me!"

Shikamaru looked back at Naruto. "I thought that you weren't scared of anything but ghosts."

"I was wrong!"

Anko was suddenly behind Naruto and whispered in his ear. "Don't be scared…I haven't given you a _real_ reason to feel fear…~"

Naruto screamed as he vaulted over the desk and hid under it.

Ami was shivering as she slowly backed away from Anko.

Anko slowly looked at Ami, an evil glint in her eye, and a grin on her face. "And you I'll definitely have fun with~"

Ami also vaulted over the desk and cowered under it with Naruto.

Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "You going to try to frighten me as well?"

Anko chuckled darkly. "I don't have to try…"

Naruto yelled at Shikamaru from under the desk. "Run for your life Shika!"

Shikamaru stared into Anko's eyes, internally praising **[Gamer's Mind]**. "I think that you do. But it's not like you can because we're in the Hokage's office and anything you do in here has to be preapproved by the Hokage himself if it involves physical violence."

Anko's evil aura faded away as she stood. "You're a tough one to crack!" She patted his head, and the aura around her came back immediately, chilling the room. "I'm gonna have fun breaking _you_."

Sarutobi groaned as he got out of the wall. "Now now Anko, I think that's enough. You've already broken my window today."

Anko sighed and then sat in a chair in front of the desk. She grumbled quietly about old men not letting her have her fun.

Shikamaru sat down next to Anko, not a trace of fear in him. It was crushed by laziness. "So this woman is going to be training us?" When he received a nod, he clicked his tongue. "Troublesome…" He then looked at Anko. "So what did he bribe you with?"

Anko gasped and held a hand to her chest. "What? You think that I can be bought? That hurts Gaki! I'm supposed to be your sensei and you accuse me of something like that?"

Shikamaru looked up and down Anko before staring into her eyes. "Your sarcasm needs work. A little forced."

Anko sighed. "Dammit. I knew something was off today. But yeah, the Hokage bribed me to teach you brats. We're going to have a lot of fun together!" She gave Shikamaru an evil gaze again as she walked towards her banner. "Well, see you tomorrow!" She grabbed the banner and jumped out the unbroken window.

Shikamaru looked at the Hokage. "Is… she always like that?"

The Hokage sighed. "Unfortunately, this is one of her good days. She must have gotten to her dango early…" He then pulled an envelope out of his robe. "Because you three have a ninja supervising you… I'm going to grant you three special access to D-Rank missions. One a week, that's all." He handed the envelope to Shikamaru. "That's your payment for tutoring Naruto. You're doing a good job, as he's now low ranking."

Shikamaru nodded. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I'll take a look at the D-Rank Missions before we leave."

Hiruzen nodded and then looked under his desk. "Well… you three are dismissed."

Naruto peeked out from under the desk and looked around. "I-Is she gone?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah. She's gone Naruto. You two can come out now."

Ami and Naruto immediately came out from under the desk and were shivering. They looked around and then sighed in relief when they found no trace of the crazy lady.

Shikamaru whistled briefly. "Come on. We're going to go take a look at the D-Rank Missions."

Naruto's eyes brightened immediately. "A mission?! We get to go on a mission! We aren't even ninja yet!"

Ami had the same expression on her face. "Can we go get one Shika?!"

Shikamaru sighed. "The Hokage said that we can take one per week. If you two want to go ahead then I wo-" He was spun around at the speed of the two orphans rushing out of the office. He groaned and then went to follow them.

The Hokage cleared his throat. "Shikamaru, one moment."

Shika turned around with a blank expression. "What is it Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen had a dark look on his face. "If anyone were to call Naruto a 'demon'... you're tasked with making the problem 'disappear'. Do I make myself clear? Consider this a long-term C-Rank mission. It lasts until Naruto is a Genin."

 **!Quest Alert!**

 **The Third's Law**

 **Main Objective: Eliminate anyone in your vicinity that calls Naruto a demon.**

 **Rewards: 4 Levels**

 **Do you accept this quest?**

 **[YES/NO]**

Shikamaru stared at the quest. He looked at the reward and was tempted to push that button. But from the look of the Hokage, and his implications, the word 'eliminate' certainly meant kill. "You're… asking me to kill people."

The Hokage nodded. "I am. They are breaking a law that I clearly stated would be punishable by death. As one of my Shinobi, you are tasked with performing missions that strain the boundaries of morality."

Shikamaru looked at the quest again, then pushed the **[NO]** button. "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, but I'm not one of your Shinobi yet. I have to decline." He then walked out of the office to catch up with Naruto.

The Hokage sighed softly and then smiled after Shikamaru left. "It seems like the Will of Fire burns in even the laziest of people."

* * *

Naruto groaned as he pulled weeds from the ground. "Why did you choose this one Shika…?"

Shikamaru looked over at Naruto as he pulled weeds as well. "I didn't. You grabbed a random mission. From what my dad said, be glad that you didn't get one that involved Tora."

Ami chuckled. "This isn't that bad you two. It's just pulling things from the ground."

Naruto sighed. "I know… but… I thought that we'd be fighting bad guys and saving princesses. Not… doing chores."

Anko started laughing from the roof of the building right next to them. "Oh! I love it when Gakis feel the despair of D-Rank missions for the first time!"

Shikamaru groaned at the arrival of the crazy lady. "What do you want?"

Naruto and Ami were already pressed against a fence from fear. Ami pointed at Anko. "H-How did she find us?!"

Shikamaru looked at Anko and then rolled his eyes as he dusted his hands off. "You going to help us with this or just going to watch? Either way, I'm going to ignore you." He walked over to the other side of the yard and began to work on that side instead.

Anko chuckled darkly. "You two." She looked at Naruto and Ami and smirked when they flinched. "Get back to work! I have to talk things out with your black haired prick of a friend." She watched the two other kids immediately start working again, then hopped off of the building and walked towards Shikamaru. "You're different from the other gakis. You aren't scared of me. You should be. You have no idea what I've done." She licked her lips.

Shikamaru groaned again and then looked at Anko, then the words above her head, seeing as he was too busy ignoring her last time.

 **Snake Mistress**

 **Mitarashi Anko**

 **LV: ?**

He then deadpanned. "Do I even want to know where you hide your snakes…?" Shika's eyes widened a bit. "Don't answer that."

Anko looked at Shikamaru, a smirk on her face. "Well, if you _really_ want to know, I keep them someplace you will never touch in your life, nor any other man."

Shika thought for a moment. "So… you keep it under your coat? I assume that you're the type to not let anyone strip you down."

Anko pouted again. "Geez… you are a tough one. Then again, you're a Nara, so maybe you're already whipped."

Shika shook his head. "Nope. Not interested in a relationship. I just want to watch the clouds and to get that back, I have to get Naruto to pass while not being dead last. Not that I really mind it."

Anko snickered. "And get back to your games? Do you have a quest to watch the clouds?"

Shikamaru's expression hardened and was about to use his Kagemane on Anko, but he felt a kunai pressed against his spine. He groaned. "Great… you're clearly faster than me. How did you figure that out?"

Anko chuckled and then whispered in Shikamaru's ear. "Wouldn't you like to know~?" She then pulled the kunai away abruptly and stepped away. "The Hokage told me." She tossed her kunai into the air and smirked. "He knows a lot more than you think."

Shika sighed softly when the kunai was taken away. He didn't want to find out how well **[Gamer's Body]** does with a severed spinal cord. "Troublesome. I suppose that you want in on it?"

Anko made a noise of confirmation. "If I have to train you brats, then I better be getting something out of it. Heard that you get money from things you kill. I want you to take me on one of your trips, and see if I can get money for killing random things."

Shikamaru began to pull the weeds as he thought about Anko's statement. ' _On one hand, she could make clearing the dungeon much easier, and we could move up to the next stage. On the other hand, she's a crazy ass bitch.'_ He sighed softly. "One run through. Just to test out how you do. It's not that difficult if three Academy Students can get through it."

Anko nodded and pulled a stick of dango from… somewhere. She started eating it with gusto. "Well, you're right about that!"

Shikamaru smiled. "And… in return, I want you to do something for me."

Anko paused mid-bite and then slowly lowered her treat. "What…? It better not be something that involves me getting naked."

Shikamaru shook his head and pulled a scroll from his Inventory and tossed it towards Anko. "Could you get two more copies of this? I can learn it instantly, but Ami and Naruto can't. They need to be able to learn it on their own time, seeing as I'll have to adjust the schedule again if you're training us."

Anko caught the scroll and took a glance at it. "Tree walking? Really? That's it. Two copies of the Tree walking jutsu for those two?"

Shikamaru nodded and then resumed his work.

Anko shrugged and finished her dango and tossed the stick at the wall of the fence, embedding it inside of the wood. "Alright. I'll supervise this thing, then you take me to your… whatever the hell you call it, kill some shit, get richer, get you your scrolls, and then spend the rest on Dango." She tossed the scroll back to Shikamaru and then snickered when it hit him in the back of his head.

* * *

Shikamaru's eye twitched as he watched as the Treant was torn apart.

Anko laughed as she tore the Treant limb from limb with her snakes. Bark and purple goop flew everywhere. She sighed as she calmed down a little and looked at Shikamaru. "So how do you kill this thing?"

Shikamaru pointed to the gem on the back of the Treant's head.

"Thanks." She tossed a clean skewer at the gem, and sent it through the bark man, the gem shattering a few seconds after. Anko sighed as the snakes disappeared in a poof of smoke, then saw the stack of Ryo that it left. "I'll take this!" She swiped it all from the ground and then put them in her coat. "I did all of the work myself, so I'll take all the cash."

 **You have completed Stage 1 of the Corrupted Glade! Would you like to continue?**

 **[YES/NO]**

Shikamaru ignored the notification again and looked at Anko. "That's not how we operate." He walked over and held out an open hand "We collect the total Ryo and divide it all equally among us."

Anko smirked. "And why should I do that if I did all the work?"

Shikamaru sighed. "One, you didn't do all the work, just killed the boss while laughing at the rest of us killing everything else, and two… do you want to leave?" He smirked when he saw Anko's face.

Anko was suddenly terrified of not leaving this place. If she didn't, how would she ever eat dango again?! She quickly took the Ryo from her coat and then handed it to Shika. "I'm going to get you back for this."

Shika shrugged and then divided the Ryo equally and shoved one of the piles into his Inventory. "Alright, did we get anything else?"

Naruto held up three large bottles of red liquid. "These things. They smell like cherries."

Shikamaru **Observed** the bottles, then smiled. "Nice find Naruto. These are health potions. Kinda weak ones, but that's to be expected from the first dungeon."

 **Potion of Minimal Healing**

 **A very common and easy to create potion. If you can find the materials**

 **Heals 100 HP per use**

 **Has three uses**

 **Tastes like cherries**

Naruto sniffed the bottle again, then gave them to Shikamaru.

As soon as Shikamaru grabbed the bottles, another window popped up in front of him.

 **Would you like to analyze this item?**

 **(WARNING: This will destroy the item)**

 **[YES/NO]**

Shikamaru sighed, then tapped the **YES** button. One of the bottles in his arms began shaking, then shattered, leaving nothing behind. Not even the glass of the bottle. Shika's crafting menu opened up and there was an odd bar above the normal recipe screen. "Okay...so I can sacrifice an item to have the possibility to make it… Useful, but also troublesome…" He then looked at Anko and had an epiphany. "Anko, I'd like to hire you for something."

Anko groaned. "Besides the Tree Walking shit scrolls you have me getting, I'm not sure if I wanna."

Shika then offered her money pile to the snake mistress. "You get my share of the money."

Anko stared at the stack of Ryo bills in Shikamaru's hand, then sighed. "What is it?" She then took the money, added it to her own, and then hid the bills in her jacket.

Shikamaru then hit **NO** on the continue screen, and the forest began to fade away around them. "I need you to find an alternate Bunshin for Naruto. He has far too much Chakra to perform the academy one."

Anko chuckled. "Easy. There are tons of them out there. Plus it's in the same place as where I need to get the scrolls. Sucker." She then looked around and then gave the kids a mock salute before disappearing in front of them.

Naruto looked at where Anko was and made a noise of awe. "W-Where did she go?!"

Shika and Ami both sighed at once, thinking the exact same thing. ' _Bakayarou'._

* * *

 **Marcoglas92: Thank you!**

 **Nooo: Unfortunately, I will have a party system, but it will work in a specific way. He can't bring any other team into the game. So only Naruto and Ami can be in his party and that's it. Well, maybe their sensei.**

 **Sigmarc: Thank you for reading!**

 **MattKennedy: Thank you for the compliment. It's proven a bit more of a challenge than I originally thought, but I'm getting the hang of it.**

 **Shadowoel: I hope to write more of this.**

 **Sundrawnshadow: I apologize for the nearly three-month wait for this.**

 **Saint of vice koncor: This version of the Gamer OS is a little more forgiving. It will drag anyone in a three-foot radius of the Gamer into the dungeon as well as the normal party stuff.**

 **Miroku Kensei: Well, I'm glad that I was able to pick the slack up on it. There aren't enough Shika stories in general, let alone Gamer!Shika.**

 **OoOXylionOoO: I'm very happy to share my work! I'm thinking about writing my own original book, but for now, I'm putting that idea on the backburner.**

 **So, that Japanese word at the end means 'Stupid Man' in a literal translation for people who don't know Japanese, like me. And I apologize once again for not updating this past the first chapter. I won't be able to update other stories within a few days because this was mostly finished already. So I'll see all of you next time! Ciao!**


	3. First Blood

**Happy post-holidays everyone. God… I'm so tired from dealing with people for the past three days. I hate inlaws. Anyways! Enough griping! You came here for a good time, and I'm happy to give it to you!**

 **Shikamaru: Checkmate.**

 ***Stares at the chessboard* W-We just started!**

 **Shikamaru: So?**

 ***groans* Okay, set it up again while I read the comments! I will beat you!**

 **Shikamaru: This is the eighteenth time we've played. Maybe you should give the Gamer power to yourself.**

 **You mean a self-insert? Well… I've kinda been thinking about doing it, but I don't know what the public reaction would b-**

 **Shikamaru: Weren't you reading reviews?**

 **OoOXylionOoO: Thank you! I hope that you stick around for a while!**

 **Merendinoemiliano: Well, that's honestly not how his power works. See, the other gamers can invite people to their party. In this one, his team will be his party at all times. And he can't add anyone to it. Seeing as this is technically the first version of it, there will be a few kinks.**

 **Blazing heart frigid soul: While Shika has an IQ of 280, he is still a kid. He doesn't see things as an adult would. He simply doesn't have the experience to see. Sasuke believes he has pull, but as usual, they're using him as a puppet so they can get his "precious" Sharingan. Think about it this way. Everything before the first episode is about the same outside of Konoha. Neji's still a prick, Hinata was still almost kidnapped, everything. That includes Gaara killing his bastard uncle. Inari… I feel bad enough for that kid, but condemning him to a life of brooding? That's too cruel. Though kudos for the great idea. Haku and Zabuza… they both died unjustly. Though it was used in the future as a source of strength for Naruto. That coin toss is still up in the air because of that.**

 **HitGamer22: If you are talking about the Gamer power being hereditary, the power isn't gene-based. So Shika doesn't need to worry about the CRA.**

 **MattKennedy: Thank you! I felt like while the gamer HAS to have the party system, it wouldn't make sense for it to be that interactive, as it's still only stage 1. And as for Sasuke, that was a setup for drama and vendetta shit that all Uchiha's do.**

 **Uriil: I won't forget about Choji. I did for a bit, but I have a plan on how to bring him and Ino back into this. Though InoShikaCho won't be happening, they'll still be paired up on missions. And it wasn't my idea to use Ami. Originally, I was going to use Hinata, but Frigid heart blazing soul explained to me how malleable the Ami character is. She's a canon character who can really be molded into anything. Though right now it looks like a mini Anko is coming. Well, I doubt that it will be like that until Shippuden. And for the stats, sure! Why not? Keep in mind, as the rest of the team aren't part of the Gamer just yet, they won't be put in the end.**

 **Flamarow: Yeah, I felt that a crafting system would be very important, though I kinda flubbed it up on my first try. The good thing about Gamer stories is that whenever you do something that you don't really like with the OS, you can just write an update to fix it! And that dungeon is kinda like the DLC dungeon in the actual Manhwa, but also… not. See, this is a less advanced version of the other ones that I have in place, and there will be a few… well, if it were an actual game, I would call them coding errors that players can exploit to access places without the necessary requirements. Anko won't turn them into sadists, so don't worry. And as for the boss, the skill scroll is a rare boss drop, kinda like how you're grinding for a specific item and you just can't seem to get it because the game somehow knows when you're grinding for that item and changes the drop rate of said item exponentially! ...I have a bad history with item grinding, let's just say that.**

 **Fear Z Deadpool: Thank you! I try to write it in that way, but sometimes I fall short of it, well, probably a lot of the time. And I like Anko as well, which is what tipped the balance between her and Kakashi really. They're both what I'm looking for, but Anko is just better for the situation. And I chose Shika because let's face it, he doesn't get as much screen time as he deserves. He's supposed to be one of the main characters but half the time he's being lazy or not fighting, and even when he's fighting, he gets taken out quickly half the time as well.**

 **Shikamaru: Checkmate.**

 **We weren't even playing!**

 **Shikamaru: Yeah. We were. Your hand was moving on its own. You lasted three more rounds.**

 **Ugh. Anyways people, enjoy!**

* * *

"Speech"

' _Thought'_

" _Telepathy"_

 **"** _ **Bijuu/Gods"**_

 **"Jutsu"**

 **Windows/Skills**

* * *

It has been a few weeks since Shikamaru hired Anko to get a suitable Bunshin replacement for Naruto and they had made decent progress. Shika felt really bad for not hanging out with Choji for an entire month, so he cooked him something to apologize. He got the **[Cooking]** skill to level six while doing that, so that was good. Though the game didn't have a cooking menu for some odd reason. He was sitting next to Choji on the roof of the school eating a lazily put together meal for himself while talking to Choji. "So that's why I haven't been hanging out with you for the past month. The Hokage gave me the job to get Naruto out of the Dead Last position, and he needed a major overhaul. I actually needed to make an effort to do it."

Choji was munching on the delicious curry and rice that Shika had made for him. "Wow! This is really good! And if you actually had to use energy to do something, it must be important! Also really difficult for you!"

Shika sighed. "It's been… very troublesome, to put it mildly, but I can't exactly refuse a direct order from the Hokage. Otherwise, my mother would never let me relax again." He then looked up at the clouds. "I want you to join us for training. Not for any other reason than to hang out. We can get better as well, but I miss us just relaxing and talking about anything that comes to our minds."

Choji sighed softly. "Well, I would really like too Shika, really, but then I'd have to bring Ino. For some reason, she's started following me and demanding that I take her everywhere."

Shika chuckled. "Maybe she's being forced to because her parents believe that we'll be on the same team." He then fell onto his back and stared into the endless sky. "They're probably not wrong. So you can bring Ino if that means we can hang out again."

Choji smirked knowingly. "But don't you think that all blondes are troublesome?"

Shikamaru nodded. "I do, and they are. But if I can handle one without you, two should be easy."

Choji sighed as he laid back as well. "You say that now Shika, but you haven't been around Ino outside of class."

Shika shrugged as he closed his eyes. "Well, I've been wrong before. It'll come as a surprise, but I won't be mad."

* * *

Shikamaru was very, very wrong. If it wasn't for **[Gamer's Mind]** he likely would've punched Ino in the face with Ami's claws equipped. It wouldn't kill her, just… send her to the hospital as a vegetable. It would be a mercy, seeing as her title was 'Uchiha Fan Girl' instead of what he saw as Inoichi's when he visited. That one was 'Mental Puppeteer', which was strikingly similar to his father's' 'Puppeteer of Shadows' title.

Ino pointed an accusing finger at Naruto. "What is that living fashion disaster doing here Shika?! He's already messed with my clothes one too many times! And why is he wearing black?!" She then made a noise of understanding. "I see. You want to be more like Sasuke-kun, so you thought that starting with the color of his clothes was a good start!"

Naruto gagged. "Oh HELL NO! Why would I want to be more like that duck butt teme?! I'm fine just the way I am! Shika and Ami just made me get these and I couldn't change back into my orange jumpsuit because they burned all of the ones I had!"

Ino heard angels sing. "You mean that those orange monstrosities are gone!?"

Ami groaned as she stood next to Naruto. "Yeah, don't pay her any mind. She's a bitch. Her dad's a nice guy though."

Naruto deadpanned as he watched Ino begin to dance in joy. "Yeah, I didn't notice…"

Choji stepped in between everyone. "Okay, guys! Aren't we here to train?" He looked at Shikamaru. "That is why everyone's here, right?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I don't know about Ino, but everyone else is, right Naruto?"

Naruto nodded. "But you have to agree to stop holding my ramen hostage!" He then ducked under a punch from Ami. "Hah! You missed!"

Ami shrugged and cracked her knuckles. "Your instincts are getting better Naruto." She then sent him to the floor with a quick leg sweep. "But there's a reason why I'm the second best civilian girl in Taijutsu. And it's because I don't want to deal with the pink haired banshee screaming that I somehow cheated." She then sighed. "Though I think that she's more obsessed with that Uchiha than becoming a ninja. Probably hoping to be one of his bitches in the CRA."

Anko grinned as she watched the group from the trees. She knew why they kept coming to Training Ground 1, but she didn't know why the fellow pineapple head brought friends. She then flipped upside-down on the branch she was crouched on and attached her feet to the tree with Chakra. She pulled out a sealing scroll, which had four scrolls in it. "Now, how to deliver these… Oh! I know!" Anko grinned evilly and then launched the scrolls that were in her arms at the heads of the brats with her full strength.

Shika saw a window pop up for **[Sense Intent]** and looked up to see a large scroll flying towards him. "Shit! **[Kagemane no Jutsu]!** " He quickly possessed Naruto and Ami and then jumped back as far as he could, the scrolls that were flying towards them becoming embedded into the ground.

Naruto looked up as Shikamaru looked. "M-Mitarashi-san! W-What brings you he-"

Anko appeared behind Naruto and hit him in the back of the head. "No formalities. I hate them. Just call me the Great and Sexy Mitarashi Anko!"

Shikamaru groaned as he dropped the jutsu. "That's a formal title…" He then grabbed one of the scrolls. "So is this the Tree Walking technique that I told you to get?"

Anko suddenly kicked Shikamaru in the gut, sending him flying. "Stop being such a Nara, Nara. And I got the job done, so don't worry. Also got something for the Uzumaki brat."

Ami looked at the scroll. "Wait, you went ahead and got us these Shika?"

Shikamaru nodded. "The Hokage wanted Naruto out of dead last, so I figured this would help." He then looked at Anko as he stood up. "How much would it take for you to get two more by the end of today?"

Anko balanced a suddenly empty skewer on her finger. "Not much. About 400 Ryō."

Shikamaru sighed and then pulled that money from his pocket. "Here. Get it done."

Anko smirked as she took the stack of bills and nodded. She then disappeared, leaving falling leaves in her place.

Choji stared at the empty air. "Did….that just happen?"

Ami nodded as her fear of Anko faded. "Y-Yeah… she's crazy, but she's also reliable, so the Hokage decided to have her oversee our combat training."

Naruto grinned as he stretched. "Speaking of, should we get started?"

Shika walked over to the group and cracked his neck. "I guess… Same rules as before, but with Choji and Ino joining our battle royal." He then pulled a kunai from a pouch on his side. "We all go across the field to make sure that none of us have the advantage, no jutsu, and no lethal blows." He then watched as everyone moved to their own places, then lifted the kunai. "I'm going to throw this into the air, and when it hits the ground we go, alright?!" When he received nods from everyone, he tossed the kunai high into the air, trying to arc it so that it would land in the center of the field.

Ami immediately stared down Ino. ' _The weaker blonde goes first…'_

Naruto was staring at Shikamaru. ' _You're mine this time Shika.'_

Ino was glaring at Naruto with a fire in her eyes. ' _This will be easy! Sasuke-kun will help me win!'_

Choji was just happy to be here and got into a fighting position.

Shikamaru sighed as he got into his relaxed fighting position. "I hate this part of training."

The kunai sank into the ground and the fighters immediately went after their targets save for Shikamaru.

Naruto dashed towards his pineapple haired friend with a grin on his face. "I'll get you this time Shika!" He rolled out of the way of a strike from Ino and then began to attack Shikamaru with mostly unpredictable strikes.

Shikamaru's face became devoid of emotion as he blocked and deflected strikes from Naruto. ' _He's going all out huh? Fine.'_ He suddenly wrapped his arm around one of Naruto's legs, yanked him off the ground and quickly slammed a fist into the spiky blonde's solar plexus. "You leave yourself open to counter attacks. Pull your attacks back faster once it connects, or just hit faster."

Ami smirked as she ran up from behind Ino. She tapped the blonde fangirl's shoulder and then hit her in the back of the knees. She then flipped over Ino by using her shoulders as leverage and hit the girl in the face with a spin kick. "Honestly, aren't you from a shinobi family? You really should've seen that coming."

Ino growled and then quickly got to her feet. "You messed up my hair!" She rushed Ami and then began to attack her with an adapted Academy style. It seemed to be fairly rigid, but at the same time, Ino's body moved with the strikes so that she could easily chain her attacks together, quickly taking the offensive in her battle with Ami.

Choji ran towards Shikamaru, seeing as he looked like the greatest threat on the battlefield and then hit his best friend square in the chest, sending him off of his feet and away from him and Naruto. He then helped Naruto up and nodded at him with a smile.

Naruto grinned and then cracked his knuckles as he ran towards the downed Nara. He leaped into the air and then tried to finish Shika off with a blow to the head.

Shikamaru saw this coming and then tilted his head out of the way, making Naruto punch the ground. He planted his hands on the ground and then spun himself on them, kicking Naruto in the ribs as he got to his feet. He glanced to his left and then flipped out of the way of Choji attacking him. ' _I really don't want to fight Choji, but I suppose I have to.'_

Ami quickly moved her body to block Ino's fast attacks. And fast they were, but they had no real impact to them. She smirked and then stared into Ino's eyes. "Come on! Stop trying to hit me and hit me, shinobi girl!" Ani then took one of the hits so that she could counter with a jab to the blonde's stomach. She took a few steps back as she let Ino recover. "Well, that's what you get for dotting and stalking an emo prick instead of training."

Choji ran towards Shikamaru and began to attack his friend with fairly predictable attacks. Though that was the entire point of his attacks. To keep Shikamaru focused on him so that Naruto could get into position for an attack. He stuck to punches as he currently didn't want to actually fight his friend.

Ino soon recovered and suddenly had a fire in her eyes. "DON'T YOU BADMOUTH SASUKE-KUN!" She rushed Ami and began to attack the purple haired girl again, her strikes hitting much harder. She suddenly rolled her head and then whipped Ami in the face with her ponytail. She took advantage of her long hair as she wrapped it around Ami's face and then began to hit her rapidly all over her body. Sure the tugging at her scalp wasn't the best feeling, but _nobody_ talks shit about her Sasuke!

Naruto's grin grew wider as he ran up behind Choji. He slid to the Akimichi's side and then hit Shikamaru hard in the side with a string of powerful blows, the final one sending Shika into the air slightly. "Choji! Hands out!" When the rotund ninja-to-be held his hands out, Naruto quickly jumped onto them and jumped into the air as Choji threw him. He spun around in the air and attempted to hit Shikamaru with a crushing axe kick.

Shikamaru looked up as he landed, and then blocked the kick with his arms.

 **HP: 745/775**

That one really hurt. Shikamaru then grasped Naruto's leg and winced internally. "Sorry about this Naruto." He then hit him really hard in the crotch to stun him. He then slid out from Naruto, flipped onto his feet and then nailed the stunned blonde in the face with a solid punch to the jaw. "But I can't have you guys ganging up on me like that." He then stared Choji down. "Before we fight, you might want to stop Ino."

Choji looked over at Ino and gasped, then dashed over to the two female fighters and then held the two apart. "Hey! We aren't trying to kill each other, okay?! Calm down Ino!"

Ino glared at Choji. "THAT BITCH DISRESPECTED SASUKE-KUN! I CAN'T ALLOW HER TO LI-" She let out a choked sound as she fell to the ground, out cold.

Shika flicked away the pain as he stared at Ino's sleeping form. "Okay. Crisis averted. Let's continue." He then struck at Ami, who easily leaned out of the way of his attack and attempted to counter with her own, only to be dodged by Shikamaru as he cartwheeled out of the way.

Ami smirked and then began to attack Choji, the fa- err… heavy kid only able to block half of her attacks, but she could tell that they didn't really do much. "Ugh, what the hell are you made of?!"

Choji smiled as patted his stomach. "What everyone else is made of, I guess." His face quickly became serious as he began to strike back against Ami, his attacks slower than hers, but more powerful. He heard footsteps to his right and glanced over to see Naruto running over.

"Shika! I told you that you're mine!" Naruto vaulted over the two other remaining combatants and was about to hit Shikamaru again, but he saw his buddy throw something and he quickly held his eyes in pain. "GAH! WHAT THE HELL?!"

Shikamaru smirked as he hit Naruto hard in the gut. "Cheating is what ninja do." He then let Naruto fall and then scooped up two handfuls of dirt. He ran over to Ami and Choji and threw the dirt into each of their eyes. While they were blinded, he began to wail on Choji from all sides, not letting his friend know where he was hitting from. He dealt the final blow in the form of a palm strike against Choji's temple, knocking the boy out. He then stared at Ami, his eyes blank as he walked towards her.

Ami had just managed to get the dirt out of her eyes when she saw Shikamaru walking towards her. She jumped back to get some time to recover, then gasped when Shikamaru was right in front of her. She rose her arms to block a blow to the face, but it was too late. She was hit right in the forehead, making her head whip back. She then felt Shika chop her exposed throat. Ami held her neck as she coughed heavily.

Shikamaru smirked, then fell onto his back. "I won… troublesome…" He sighed as he stared up at the clouds. "The clouds are nice today."

Anko threw two more scrolls right in between Shikamaru's legs. "Quit leaving yourself open gaki! You're making me look bad!"

Shika hardly flinched. "I'm watching the clouds. No training can be done until they all recover."

Anko scoffed. "From that little playground scrap?" She then looked around. "Then again, you _all_ are really flabby like that." She hopped from a tree branch and then looked around the field. "Some of you are more flabby than others, but hey! That's why I'm here! To torment you gakis until you get into fighting shape!" She then glared at Shikamaru. "Pineapple head! Give me as many pushups as you can do in five minutes! Now!"

Shikamaru groaned as he looked at the battle log to see what he got. "Can it wait?"

 **Battlelog:**

 **[Detect Intent] has gained a level!**

 **[Physical Endurance] has gained a level!**

 **[Physical Endurance] has gained a level!**

 **[Physical Endurance] has gained a level!**

 **[Tactics] has gained a level!**

Anko kicked Shikamaru in the ribs. "Stop griping and get to work before I tear a rib out and shove it somewhere… unpleasant."

Shikamaru shivered slightly as a window popped up.

 **You feel intense Killing Intent coming from right next to you!**

Shika stared at the window, then shook his head as he flipped over and began to do pushups, seeing as Anko was completely serious. He felt a heavy weight suddenly appear, completely focused on the weak spot of his spine. Shikamaru looked up to see Ank standing on his back, eating a stick of Dango. "The hell are you doing?!"

Anko grinned. "I told you. I'm here to torment you. Keep going."

* * *

" _ **No! Absolutely not!"**_ A very deep voice rang out across the darkness. " _ **I'm not going to allow you to begin this sick game Nyarlathotep!"**_

A little boy chuckled as he floated in the void. " _ **And why not? It's not like you can stop me Kami. And stop trying to be intimidating and use your real voice. This is annoying enough for me to go over there and kill you."**_

There was a deep growl, then a groan. " _ **Very well."**_ A much more normal sounding feminine voice rang out. " _ **Though I still cannot allow this to pass. I will fight you with every fiber of my being."**_

Nyarlathotep let out a childlike giggle. " _ **How cute! You think that you can actually hurt me!"**_ He then snapped and then the darkness was sent away with a pulse of light. " _ **Tell you what! I'll only set things in motion IF you play with me until I get bored!"**_

A woman came into being across from Nyarlathotep, indescribably beautiful, her hair glowing in a holy light. " _ **If I allow you this, will you leave this world alone?"**_

Nyarlathotep nodded. " _ **I pinkie promise! Now, what should we play first?! OH! I know! How about some chess?"**_ He snapped and then the floor under the two quickly became a checkerboard pattern. He snapped again and watched as inky black creatures began to form in front of him and to the sides of him. They were its minions, all of them wearing his mask.

Kami's eyes narrowed as she stepped into the King position and then snapped, her warriors forming on her side in various flashes of light. " _ **Who has the first move?"**_

Nyarlathotep snickered. " _ **Go ahead! It won't help you though!"**_

Kami glared at the visage of a little boy and then snapped. " _ **Alright then! Pawn to C4."**_ One of Kami's divine warriors stepped forward two squares.

The little boy hummed in thought. " _ **It's always so hard to tell what you're going to do in the beginning, but if I had to guess, you're going to try to get your Bishop out as soon as you can so you can do a saving gambit with your rook. Naughty Kami!"**_ He waggled his finger and then smirked. " _ **Okay, I can deal with that! Knight to C6."**_ He smiled as one of his inky creatures of darkness snarled in a way that would make a human go mad and watched it vault over his pawns into its place. " _ **This is going to be fun!"**_

Shikamaru sighed as he performed chores in the house for his mother. He had been doing them all day, so he let Naruto and Ami have the day off. There was also the fact that there was graduation tomorrow. Naruto had made good progress. And while his technical classes like math and history were still… let's just say 'lacking', the practical classes like Taijutsu and Kunai and Shuriken Bukijutsu were more than enough to make up for his incessant need to sleep during Iruka-sensei's lectures. And the Academy Three Jutsu were completely set. He was eerily good at using the Henge and was as good as a Chunin when it came to the Kawarimi. His Bunshin still needed a lot of work, though they had found a substitute for him that relied more pure chakra density instead of control. It had taken Naruto all month, but he could make a good ten clones easily.

Shika then began to think about how Ami improved under his supervision, as that was all it really was. She had gained a better handle on her Taijutsu style, and could easily take Haruno and Yamanaka at the same time, seeing as neither of them trained at all. Her jutsu were already good, though she gained more control over her chakra, allowing her to create seven normal Bunshin with her low chakra reserves from her heritage. But throwing around fireballs and teleporting wasn't all that made a good ninja, and that girl was set out to prove it, focusing mostly on improving her proficiency with her claws. She was the only one of the group who had lethal weapons besides kunai and shuriken, and she could probably give an Inuzuka a good fight, though, at her level of skill and experience, she wouldn't win. But she was much more of a ninja than almost every girl in their year save for Hinata.

He then began to evaluate himself. He was still as lazy as he could be, which was great. He had gotten a fair amount of money from his job tutoring Naruto, also great, and he had this weird game ability. That was the dealbreaker. He almost didn't want to become a ninja after seeing that, but what was amazing about his power, is that it allowed him to get stronger by being lazy. For instance, his **[Chakra Regeneration]** skill, which he decided to not continue to level until he was a Genin to not arouse suspicion, gave him a passive boost to his Chakra Regeneration, which is at 8%. When using the ability, his regeneration is a whopping 16% of his Max Chakra a minute. And while he didn't have all that much in his Chakra pool, to begin with, if his regen is that high, he can easily keep up with Naruto's immense reserves. Mostly because Naruto didn't know how to use Chakra other than the three Academy jutsu. He had leveled his **[Leaf Concentration]** to a nice 35, and it was fairly useless as a technique in its own right, but the next stage of it required him to be at Level 20 with it, and he figured that the next step after that would be the same. He had also gotten his **[Throwing Mastery]** to level 20, and it said that he could not increase it anymore until he made Genin.

Shika sighed as he thought about his future. Either he was going to be paired with Ino and Choji, or he was going to be with Naruto and Ami. And while he didn't mind being on a team with Choji, him, Naruto and Ami already have their teamwork down. Sure, they aren't good at the actual attacks, but there hasn't been any major infighting because no one has been a major prick.

"Whatcha thinkin' about Gaki?"

Shika groaned as he saw Anko's very large breasts block his view of the clouds. "What is it with you and interrupting my cloud watching?

Anko smirked and then stomped on Shika's stomach. "No need to be rude!" She then sat down next to him. "So… guess who just got a promotion!"

Shikamaru faked thinking. "Was it Iruka? Because there's no chance that the Hokage promoted who I think you're implying got promoted."

Anko groaned and took off her vest, and shoved it into Shika's face. "Yeah. It was me. Called me in early this morning before I could eat my dango."

Shikamaru very quickly looked away. "Could you… just put that back on? And the trench coat?"

Anko smirked evilly. "Oh~! What's this?! Could the Gaki be embarrassed to look at my amazing body?"

Shikamaru groaned. "Yes. I also don't want to invoke the wrath of my mother."

Anko sighed and then put her extra clothes back on. "Alright, alright. Geez, you just suck the joy out of everything, don't you?"

Shika chuckled. "Only the things that you do, Anko."

Anko shrugged and then seemed to remember something. "Right. I'm supposed to give you something." She then pulled a scroll out of her jacket. "Here."

Shikamaru looked at Anko. "You didn't store that between your breasts like I thought you would."

Anko stared blankly at Shikamaru. "Why would I do that? It's impractical, not even mentioning uncomfortable." She then cleared her throat. "You gonna open it?"

Shika groaned as he sat up and took the scroll. "Fine." He opened it up and then stared blankly. "It's a nude painting."

Anko looked shocked, then quickly looked at the scroll before rolling it up. "Yeah, that's mine." She then pulled a much smaller scroll from her jacket. " _This_ is yours."

Shikamaru took the smaller one with much more caution in his movements this time around, and slowly opened it to see that it was an order from the Hokage to see him as soon as possible. Shikamaru shrugged and then looked back up at the clouds.

Anko read the note as well. "Gaki, shouldn't you be going?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "The order said 'as soon as possible'. And it's not possible right now. Would you go if you got this during you dango time?"

Anko scoffed. "Hell no. You don't cut that early. It's sacred."

Shika nodded. "As is cloud watching to my family."

Kakashi sneezed loudly in the Jonin briefing room. He rubbed his mask covered nose a bit, then sighed happily. "Whoever is being lazy, I salute you."

* * *

Shikamaru was being dragged to the Hokage tower by Anko. Specifically by his ankle. "Any reason why you're dra- ow, dragging me?"

Anko's eye was twitching. "Because you annoy me brat. And that's good enough reason to cause you pain as you meet the Hokage." She then lifted Shikamaru up to eye level. "But the Hokage also told me to drag you here if you're pulling a Nara. Which is cloud watching for hours after you get the order."

Shikamaru stared blankly, then pointed at Anko's face. "You got some red bean paste in the corner of your mouth."

Anko's eyes widened. She dropped Shikamaru on his head and then quickly wiped her face. "Thanks." She resumed to drag Shika to the tower, and up the stairs, making sure that he hit his head on every step. She kicked the door open and tossed Shikamaru in. "Package for the old man!" She then Shunshined out of the tower before anyone could talk back to her.

Hiruzen nodded. "Thank you, Anko." He took a drag from his pipe. "Shikamaru, I realize that you may only be a child, so I'll tell you what I expect of my ninja." He exhaled the smoke in the shape of a dragon. "Integrity to their village, punctuality, and effectiveness. No doubt most of my nin miss the mark on one of those, but they would all give their lives for the village." He then leaned forward as Shikamaru stood up. "That said, I don't think that I can allow another Kakashi to come forth."

Shikamaru nodded. "Alright. So, is he lazier than my dad or something?"

Sarutobi nodded. "By miles. It's actually quite amazing how he can be so lazy, and still be as effective as he is." He then sifted through his documents. "However, that is not why I called you here today." He then set pictures down of Shikamaru, Naruto, and Ami standing in one place, and then disappearing the next. "These were taken seconds apart from each other. Would you care to explain?"

Shikamaru dusted himself off. "Hey, every ninja has their secrets. This is just what I used to help Naruto and Ami become better at what they're training for. Speaking of, the tests are tomorrow. I would just like to ask if ninja have a more advanced version of the Bunshin, can they use that instead?"

The Hokage smirked. ' _Well done. He effectively avoided the question while prying for his own answers.'_ "I don't see why not. And if any of your teachers do say that it isn't possible, just tell them that I said it was okay. Though I don't believe that Iruka will do that to you."

Shikamaru nodded in thought. "Alright. Well, is that all you needed me for?"

Hiruzen shook his head. "Not at all. And while I would like to know more about this method of yours, I would like to learn more about how Naruto's training has been going. Will he be ready for tomorrow?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I don't know what is on the test, so I can't say for certain, but if it's just basic stuff like Taijutsu, Bukijutsu, and the Academy three jutsu, then you don't need to worry about a thing. And I don't know how heavily graded the Bunshin is, but if Naruto failed twice because of it, maybe you should balance the grading system out this year. I can understand the Henge and Kawarimi, but the Bunshin is next to useless. It makes no sound, doesn't cast a shadow, and can't hit anything. The only use I can think of it is for having it just stand there in a dark room to be intimidating, or as a way to get out of work for a good ten seconds."

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed, and then checked Naruto's files for the previous two years. "Well, it says here that he was lacking in all things ninja, but if what you're saying is to be believed, then I think that I have some Chunin to straighten out. Thank you for bringing this to my attention Shikamaru." He made a hand gesture and a small stack of Ryo poofed onto his desk. "Your payment for training Naruto for this month."

Shikamaru nodded and then pocketed the money so that he could covertly put it into his Inventory. "Thank you, Hokage-san. Is there anything else?"

Sarutobi shook his head. 'No, that will be all."

Shikamaru bowed, then walked out of the office. He closed the big doors behind him and then groaned. "Why is Naruto so troublesome…?" He shook his head, then looked up to see a blonde dashing towards him. He stepped to the side to watch as Naruto hit his face on the door. "Naruto, what are you doing here?"

Naruto held his face in pain. "Dammit! That hurt like hell!" He then flipped onto his feet. "I come by here every day to talk to Jiji! Why are _you_ here Shika?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Reasons." He then walked off with a smirk. "Oh, and watch out, Anko is in there."

Naruto paled as he gulped nervously. He then slowly opened the door and cautiously looked around. "I-Is the crazy snake lady here?"

Hiruzen smiled. "No, Mitarashi is not here right now Naruto. Please come in."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief as he walked inside. ' _Prank the prank master huh Shika…? You just wrote a ticket to your grave!'_

* * *

Shikamaru sighed as he flopped onto his bed. "Kami, why did you give me this? It's useful and all, but it's so troubleso-" He heard crashing in the next room. His face hardened as he equipped his kunai.

 **!QUEST ALERT!**

 **Grand Theft Arson-y**

 **Main Objective 1: Investigate the sounds in the next room**

 **Main Objective 2: ?**

 **Main Objective 3: ?**

 **Rewards: ? Skill Scroll, 5000 EXP, 2000 Ryo**

 **Failure: Intensive injuries, Possible permanent crippling, Hospitalization of Yoshino Nara**

 **This Quest cannot be denied**

' _Mom?!'_ Shika leaped to his feet and dashed out of his room to see that there were three masked Ninja in their home, one was holding his mother hostage, and the other two were searching for something. Shikamaru nearly growled, but instead, he became cold. He slowly walked towards the three, and his analysis of them showed that he could take them.

 **?**

 **Masked Assailant**

 **LVL: 9**

 **?**

 **Masked Assailant**

 **LVL: 12**

 **?**

 **Masked Assailant**

 **LVL: 10**

He glared and then held his hands in the rat sign. ' _ **[Kagemane no Jutsu]**_ _...'_ His shadow extended from his feet and then attached itself to the level nine enemy. Before he could say anything, he took his free hand and forced the man to grab a knife. He then began to make the man stab himself in the heart multiple times. He released the jutsu and then stared at the two remaining enemies, who just saw their colleague kill themselves. "You shouldn't have come into a ninja compound." He watched as the level ten enemy rush towards him and try to attack him with a kunai. Shikamaru easily dodged the attacks, then got tired of dodging, and then kicked the man's hand, forcing him to release their kunai. He grabbed it and then slashed their gut open. He saw them clutch their torso, making them hunch over. Shikamaru then drove the kunai into the man's temple and released the blade, making the man collapse, dead.

The level twelve man had fear evident in his eyes, so he pressed the kunai he had against Yoshino's neck harder against her, drawing blood. "S-Stay back kid! Or this lady dies!"

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed, and he then used the **[Kawarimi]** without any hand signs, multiplying its cost by a factor of ten. Needless to say, he wouldn't be doing that often. He replaced himself with the knife his first kill dropped and then tossed his own kunai at the man, making it stab into his wrist. He cried out in pain as he dropped his own kunai and clutched his arm. Shika rushed in and swept the man off of his feet before slamming him into the ground with a very practiced palm strike. He pinned the man down with his own weight and used his shock to yank the kunai out of his wrist and drive it into his eye, the blade disappearing and the man dying instantly. Shikamaru took his kunai and the one on the floor. "Are you okay mom?"

 **You have gained a level!**

Yoshino was clutching her throat. "S-Shika… y-you just-" She looked at the three dead bodies. "You just killed three people. And you're asking if _I'm_ okay?"

Shikamaru nodded as he yanked the last kunai from the second corpse's temple. "I'll freak out later." He then heard yelling outside and he looked back at his mom. "Get to your room." He cleaned a kunai off with his pants and placed it into his mother's hands. "Stay in there. If anyone besides one of our clan goes in there…" He then began to walk outside. "Go for the throat." He dashed outside and saw two of his guards laying by the gate, dead. He glared at the man who caused this, then saw his level.

 **?**

 **Masked Assailant**

 **LVL: 15**

The man looked over at Shikamaru and then scoffed. "Really? A kid?" He then chuckled as he flicked the blood off of his katana. "Look, just go back to your mommy and I can promise that you'll die quick."

Shikamaru gripped his dual kunai harder. He then pulled up his stat sheet and dumped all 20 of his points into his DEX.

 **Your Dexterity has broken the boundaries of civilian training and risen past 50!**

 **You have gained the skill: [Chakra Dash]**

 **Chakra Dash(Active): LVL: 1 EXP: 0.00%: CP Cost: 200: Your body has adapted to the high speeds of a ninja, as such, you may now boost your own speed.**

 **For 5 seconds, you can multiply your movement speed by a factor of three**

 **[?] Unlocks at LVL: 40**

 **[?] Unlocks at LVL: 100**

" **?" Unlocks at LVL: 100**

Shikamaru dismissed the skill, then activated it. He dashed towards the man, much faster than he ever was before. And he could guess that his new speed surprised the man as well, with the way his eyes widened. Shika saw a window pop up in the edge of his vision and saw that the man had the intent to cut him in half. He dismissed the window and then slid under the horizontal slash and rolled onto his feet. He activated the skill again and dashed past the man, slicing through the man's side and making him bleed dark red blood. He missed what he was aiming for. He looked back at the man and remembered that he had a bit of blood on his face. "Run while you can…"

The man scowled and then ran at Shikamaru, his blade gleaming. He slashed at the boy, but he moved out of the way. "Alright kid! I can ensure that you're gonna suffer before you die now!" He then made a string of hand signs and took a deep breath before yanking his mask down and shooting a large fireball at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru used his **[Chakra Dash]** to avoid the large fireball, then threw his two kunai at the man.

The man easily deflected the kunai and chuckled. "You'll have to do better than that kid!" He then tried to run forward, but he couldn't move. "...W-What…?"

Shikamaru held up a half rat sign that he hid behind his back. "Kagemane success." He walked towards the man, making the man move closer. Shikamaru stared up at the man and then made him drop the katana. "You have some nerve attacking a major clan unprepared." He then picked the katana up. "I mean, it's not like you could win. I'm not being arrogant, I mean this as a fact. An entire clan of ninja against four imitators." He then had an epiphany. "This is a distraction." He drove the blade through the man's legs, causing him to collapse. "You're going to tell me what's really going on." He slammed his foot on one of the stab wounds. "Or you're going to be the one to die a slow death."

The man visibly paled and then cried out in pain. "W-What the hell are you talking about kid?!"

Shikamaru stared into the man's eyes as he stabbed down into the man's elbow. "Spill it."

The man cried out again, then chuckled. "Y-You're ten years too young to get anything out of me!"

Shikamaru heard clapping behind him and then looked back to see Anko. "Why are you here?"

Anko hopped off of a building. "Well, I was passing by to drag you off to some late night training, when I see you trying to torture this guy!" She walked over to the man and began to emit killing intent. "He's right though, you are ten years too young." She then pulled Shikamaru away and stomped on the man's crotch. "Let a professional take care of it!" She then pulled out a sealing tag and slammed it onto the man's chest. "This outputs lighting chakra, and it directly attacks the target's nerve points!" She then channeled chakra into the seal and watched as the man began to cry out in agony, spittle coming from his mouth and tears immediately flowing. "See? Much more effective than a sword!" She cut the flow of chakra and watched as the man gasped for air. "Now, you wanna talk, or should I up the shocks~?"

The man shook his head. "P-Please don't! I-I'll talk!"

Anko groaned. "Lightweight." He kicked the man in the side. "Okay, so talk."

The man panted softly. "W-We were hired to get anything we could use against the Hokage for someone! There was no name, just a note, a target, and a drop off point! I was meant to be a distraction, and then we were to burn wherever we attacked!" He then made a half ram sign and there was an explosion in the distance. "And I don't intend to leave without doing my job."

Shikamaru kicked the man hard in the temple, knocking him out. "There are three dead bodies in the main compound." He then ran towards the explosion to see their explosives storage ablaze. "Dammit!" He rammed through the door and then saw a ton of bombs, black powder, and explosive notes of varying yields. He then saw the roof of the building collapse, a large hole now allowing flames to get into the building. Shika looked around, almost panicked, then immediately calmed down. He nodded and then began to throw everything into his Inventory. He could feel the flames growing larger and beginning to whip at his back. Shika was about to get the last bomb into his Inventory when more of the roof collapsed, lighting the wick of the bomb. "Shit!" He quickly turned away and then cried out in pain as the explosion sent him flying, and hitting the ground hard.

 **HP: 50/875**

Shika stared at his health, and then slowly stood up. ' _I-If I wasn't immune to...being blown to bits unless my HP hits zero…'_ He slowly stood up, then collapsed as his legs gave out. "D-Damn…"

 **HP: 40/875**

Shika saw this, then quickly tore his burning shirt off and threw it away from himself. "Right… f-fire… does constant damage… good to know." He felt the pain fade quickly, then stood up. "Alright." He stared at the now destroyed shed and then sighed with a smile. "I missed one, but my compound isn't burning down."

Anko rushed over and then cursed. "Dammit!" She then began to flip through hand signs and then clasped her hands together. " **Fūton: Reppūshō**!" Anko pulled her hands back and then threw them forward, a gale of wind being released from her hands, snuffing out the flames. She slumped over, panting heavily. "Son of a… that's what I get for not having the Wind Chakra nature, I guess…" She quickly caught her breath and then looked over at Shikamaru. "Well, you're pretty tough. Took out four guys, and survived an explosion. And I didn't know that you could enhance your speed like that Gaki. Have you been learning from other people on the sly? Don't worry, I won't tell your dad that you aren't being lazy."

Shikamaru slowly stood up and then sighed. "Anko… just shut up." He then walked inside and knocked on the door to his parent's room. "They're dead. It's safe to come out." He then walked into his room and locked the door as he flopped down onto his bed. "... I guess this **[Gamer's Mind]** thing keeps me from freaking out… Inoichi isn't going to be happy about that…" He glanced over at the windows that popped up.

 **[Chakra Sprint] has gained a level!**

 **!QUEST COMPLETE!**

 **Grand Theft Arson-y**

 **Main Objective 1: Investigate the sounds in the next room**

 **Main Objective 2: Defeat the assailants**

 **Main Objective 3: Prevent your compound from burning down**

 **Rewards: [Katon: Endan] Skill Scroll, 5000 EXP, 2000 Ryo**

Shika sighed as a scroll appeared in his hands. "I don't _feel_ like a winner, but thanks anyways game…"

 **You have gained the skill scroll [Katon: Endan]**

 **Would you like to learn this skill?**

 **[YES/NO]**

Shikamaru tapped the **NO** button and stored it in his Inventory. "This...entire day… has been so… goddamn… troublesome.

* * *

 **Name: Shikamaru Nara**

 **Title: The Gamer**

 **Job: Ninja**

 **Rank: Student (+ 20% EXP gain to all Academy Skills until they reach Skill LVL 20)**

 **Affiliation: Konoha**

 **LVL: 12 Next LVL: 0.00%**

 **HP: 875/875 (Regen: 17.5 per minute)**

 **CP: 1183/1183 (Regen: 95.11 (24.13 + 70.98] per minute)**

 **STR: 33**

 **VIT: 35**

 **DEX: 56**

 **INT: 41**

 **WIS: 26**

 **LUK: 14**

 **Skill Points: 0**

 **Ryō: 7781**

 **Perks:**

 **Nara Heritage: Allows usage of the Yin Release to manipulate Darkness**

 **Genius: + 50% EXP gain to INT, when focused, answers come much easier**

 **Shogi Journeyman: +25% EXP to WIS when playing Shogi.**

* * *

 **So… this was kinda hard to finish, but I think that it's fine. I can't belive that it took so long to do though...And before people ask why a level 50 could be held hostage by a level 13, It's more like they threatened to kill Shikamaru and the reason she was in shock is because she just watched her son kill three people.**

 **Shikamaru: Checkmate**

 **Quiet you. So yeah. See you guys next time.**


	4. Yane no Tatakai

**Honestly, I have no clue why I stopped writing this time, most likely just my depression and insomnia giving me a cocktail of terrible motivational effects. Not going to respond to reviews because it's taking every ounce of my effort to even type this out. I might respond to them at the end if I'm feeling better by then. Anyways, enjoy.**

* * *

"Speech"

' _Thought'_

" _Telepathy"_

 **"** _ **Bijuu"**_

 **"Jutsu"**

 **Windows/Skills**

* * *

Shikamaru sighed as he sat across from one of his dad's old drinking pals and teammate, Yamanaka Inoichi. His mother insisted that he be checked out by the mental manipulator. He meant no offence when thinking that though, it just happened to be Inoishi's skillset.

Inoichi chuckled softly. "No offence taken Shikamaru. But I have to admit, you have quite the advanced shields on your mind. I doubt that I could force my way through them without the assistance of any other members of my clan, so I thank you for allowing me in."

Shikamaru nodded silently as he relaxed in the chair he was sitting in. "So is this supposed to be you asking me questions and me answering them honestly, regardless of what comes out of my mouth?"

Inoichi nodded in response. "That it is, young Nara. Since you've figured out the gist of things, would you mind if we got started?" When he received a shrug, the blond haired man pulled out a standard sheet and began to read off the questions on it. "So, first question, how are you today?"

Shika sighed. "I'm fine, thinking that all of this is a troublesome attempt to see if I'm capable of taking the graduation exams tomorrow, but fine regardless."

Inoichi wrote down what Shikamaru said, then looked at the next question. "Good starting answer. Honest in its entirety. You have no reason to lie. The next question is… well this is a step up. It shouldn't be on my paper, but I may as well ask. Would you kill those four again?"

Shika shook his head. "No. I only killed three, so why would I kill four again?"

Inoichi smirked. "You know what I meant."

Shika sighed and then nodded. "Yeah. I did exactly what I had to do to protect my clan. I'm fairly certain that anyone else would be able to do it, but I was the only one awake at the time."

Inoichi sighed. "Why not leave it to your mother? She is perfectly capable of taking on weaklings such as them."

Shika shrugged again. "She didn't seem to be doing anything to counter their threats, so I took charge. I believe that she told me this morning why she didn't fight, and it was because they threatened to kill me if she made any moves against them." He took a sip of his water. "And if your next question is if I enjoyed killing them, the answer is no. Killing is too troublesome in most cases, and I would rather avoid it."

Inoichi sighed at that response. "Be honest with me Shikamaru. Why don't you like killing? I don't want to force an answer from your mind."

Shikamaru groaned softly. "Fine. I'm…" He looked away.

"It's okay to tell me."

The Nara sighed. "Alright. It's...needless. Killing rarely serves a purpose, if at all. And this isn't the first time I've killed, just...I've never killed a person." He refused to let **[Gamer's Mind]** take over, because then Inoichi would know something was up. "I...I didn't just kill them…" A solitary tear fell from his eye. The only one he would allow to fall. "I snuffed out everything that they could have been. If there was any other option, I would have taken it... but they were threatening my clan… my _mother_... I couldn't just….j-just…" His voice trembled for a moment as he wiped away that single tear. "She was going to sacrifice herself for me. I couldn't let her do that. They needed to be taken out, and...killing them was the fastest way to save my clan."

Inoichi stared at Shikamaru silently for a moment before setting down the clipboard, revealing that he hadn't been writing anything on the blank sheet of paper. "Shikamaru… with your permission, I would like to take a look at your memories. It may help you process your situation."

Shikamaru took another drink of his water, then sighed. "You have to keep quiet about it though...You'll see some things that...I would not like shared with anyone. I understand it you must, but you know my preference now."

Inoichi gave Shikamaru a soft smile. "I promise that unless specifically ordered by the Hokage, everything in here will stay between us." He closed his eyes and began to attempt to access Shikamaru's memories.

 _ **Yamanaka Inoichi is attempting to access your mind.**_

 _ **Will you allow this?  
[Yes/No]**_

Shikamaru tapped 'yes' and watched Inoichi's face turn from confusion to understanding and...pity.

 _ **[Observe] has gained a level!**_

He sighed and then checked the skill to see what had happened. It was his least leveled skill after all.

 _ **Observe**_ _**(Passive/Active): LV:2 EXP 0.00%**_

 _ **The ability to look past the surface of an object. This skill allows the user to see ally and enemy status pages, and quite possibly discern true intentions.**_

 _ **Grants information of the target to the user.**_

 _ **Passively allows the user to view Names, Titles, and Levels**_

 _ **Can view information of targets 11 levels higher than oneself**_

Inoichi sighed softly. "Well… That was certainly… informative."

Shikamaru nodded. "I've been thinking that about a lot of things recently."

Inoichi reached under the table and pulled out a bottle of sake and two sake glasses. "I don't think that we should tell Yoshino about this, do you?" He filled one of the glasses nearly to the brim and the second one halfway. He offered the half filled glass to Shikamaru. "You desperately need it, with the amount of things you will have to endure in the future." He sipped at his glass.

Shika sighed and then took the cup and observed the Sake inside of it.

 _ **Shushu-ya Sake**_

 _ **This Sake is not meant for beginners to drink, as it is 65% alcohol. Take caution.**_

He looked at Inoichi, then shook his head as he sipped at the sake. It was disrespectful to not accept a drink from an ally. Though once it was in his mouth, it took all he had to not spit it out and instead swallow the burning liquid. "Why do you and my father drink this? _How_ do you and my father drink this?!"

Inoichi chuckled as he closed his eyes. "Years of experience, Shikamaru. You'll get used to it." He took another sip. "Keep drinking. I'm certain that you'll get a skill from it."

Shika sighed, then downed it in one go.

"NOT ALL AT ONCE!"

Shikamaru began to cough violently at the burning, but then relaxed after a few seconds, left with only a strangely warm sensation in his throat and stomach.

 _ **Due to heightened exposure to a substance, the skill [Poison Resistance] has been created!**_

 _ **Poison Resistance**_ _ **(Passive): LVL: 1 EXP: 0.00%: Assassins are everywhere! Negate one of many methods used by them.**_

 _ **Lowers effectiveness of poisons by 1%**_

"You were right. I did get a skill. The game counts alcohol as a poison, so it gave me **[Poison Resistance]** to counter it."

Inoichi raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? What does it do? Lower effectiveness of poisons by a single percentage?"

Shika stared at Inoichi. "...Okay, I'll admit, I was confused for a second, then I remembered that you're still in my head." He sighed as he was about to give the glass back to the Yamanaka, but found it full again. "...You do realize that you are going to get a minor drunk."

Inoichi snickered softly. "Old enough to kill, old enough to drink. Relax. You'll be fine."

Shikamaru nodded as he began to drink again. "I'm more worried about you old man."

* * *

He was right to be worried, as the rest of the day was spent talking and getting drunk, raising Shikamaru's poison resilience by a factor of five, which wasn't much just yet, and it answered Shika's unanswered question of if he could get drunk. The answer is a big fat yes, but instead of intoxicating effects, he has a meter that tells him just how long he has until he passes out or dies from poison. It seemed handy to the both of them, buuuut then Yoshino found out. Surprisingly she didn't grill into Shikamaru as much, letting him off with a warning. Inoichi didn't get so lucky though. That night was spent with Shika listening to the howls of pain as he tried and failed to sleep.

"Hey. Gaki."

Shika groaned at the voice. "I'm sleeping Anko."

Anko scoffed as she entered his room quietly through the window. "The hell you are, you lazy brat. Let's go train. I can't sleep and I need someone to torture." She grabbed Shikamaru by the shirt and dragged him out of the compound and towards Training ground 1. "And seeing as I have been ordered to not torture you today, I think that a change in scenery is in order, if you get my drift."

Shika sighed as he nodded. "Sure. You want to go to the second level of the dungeon and watch me struggle, then you kill the boss with ease."

Anko nodded. "Then the third, fourth, and however high you can get alone."

Shikamaru groaned as he tried and failed to stand up. "Will you quit it? I need to be on my feet in case someone attacks us."

Anko chuckled darkly. "And who would attack us? The snake bitch and the bastard fox's trainer." She seemed to think for a moment. "Oh riiight. Anyone who's ignorant enough to believe rumors!"

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah. So let me up...before I cut **your hand off**."

Anko giggled at that. "You trying to use K.I? You're getting there, but just changing your voice won't do it."

Shika nodded as he began to take mental notes. "Then why don't you give me a demonstration?"

Anko sighed as she dropped Shikamaru at the Training ground. "Alright, but just one, okay?" When she saw Shikamaru stand and give her the okay, her pupils dilated, her grin widened, and an immense pressure began to force Shikamaru to his knees. " **You can't just use your voice Gaki! You gotta mean it! And when you mean it, your chakra responds in kind, affecting the air around you, adding pressure to it, making it colder, darker, more deadly! To ninja, the very elements are our weapons, so why can't our intents?!"** She laughed as the pressure grew stronger for a while.

Shika grimaced as he stared Anko down, his back hunched forward heavily as he had extreme difficulty standing in place. "That's i **t**? That's **all I** hav **e** to do? **M** e **a** n **i** t?!" He saw his **[Detect Intent]** and **[Resist Intent]** skills leveling up a few times. Shika grew increasingly annoyed before **[Gamer's Mind]** cut all of it out and he stood there, silently, his face blank. He slowly straightened up and glared into Anko's eyes. "... **Fine. I'll be genuine. Seems to be the theme of today anyways!"** He felt the air around him lighten slightly when he saw Anko's shoulders hunch forward slightly.

 _ **Due to taking lessons from a jounin level user, you have learned the skill [Project Intent]**_

 _ **Project Intent**_ _ **(Active): LVL: 1 EXP: 0.00% Cost: 30 CP per second: Force your will onto others, make them bend to your resolve!**_

 _ **Will incapacitated targets with [Resist Intent] level 0**_

 _ **Will affect targets up to [Resist Intent] level 20 with varying results.**_

 _ **Can be used to train ally [Resist Intent] Up to level 5**_

 _ **Current Intents learned: Killing**_

Anko smirked as she cut her K.I. and then walked over to her torture subject. "Not bad gaki. You might have some fire in your belly after all. Keep that on in the dungeon and you'll get better at it in no time."

Shikamaru nodded as he cut his ability off as well. "Thanks. I doubt that I would have been able to get it on my own this quickly." He then checked the windows around him and saw **[Detect Intent]** had gained two levels, and **[Resist Intent]** had gained three. "As vicious as your teaching methods are, I have to admit that they get results."

Anko blinked. "Did...you just compliment me? Have you matured over the past month?"

Shika shrugged as he opened up the dungeon. "Maybe. I've also heard that killing ages the mind."

Anko sighed at that. "Unfortunately, it does." She sounded like she was speaking from a different kind of experience. She then grinned as she ate a red bean paste smothered stick of dango and immediately began to slaughter everything in the dungeon with just her skewer. "DON'T COMPLAIN! JUST KEEP UP! I WANT TO SEE THE SECOND LEVEL!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he ran after Anko, picking up all of the loot that she dropped. By the time she had killed the boss, he had gotten 6000 Ryo, 24 small bone spikes, 15 satyr horns, 5 mystic wood, and three healing potions. He had only gotten 6000 because Anko took the rest with her snakes when she started to notice the money dropping. "Alright...stage 2, here we go." He pressed 'yes' on the advancement prompt and noticed the trees beginning to decay, some of them leaking purple ooze. "The smell is getting worse."

Anko groaned as she pulled a face mask out of her jacket and put it on. "Good thing I put lotion on the inside of my masks, keeps the smell out." She looked around and narrowed her eyes. "This doesn't feel right gaki."

Shika nodded as he tossed a bundle of bone senbon at Anko, which she took, and then began to observe his surroundings. "It's called the Corrupted Glade dungeon for a reason. Maybe if we clear the entire thing it will go away." When his skill fell on the purple muck, an interesting window popped up.

 _ **Essence of Chaos(Diluted)**_

 _ **This disgusting purple gobbledegook is primarily used to corrupt beings. Any vegetation corrupted by this, sentient or no, will secrete this as blood.**_

"Okay….that's not good in the slightest."

Anko blinked. "Okay, whenever you say that, things get interesting. What's up?"

Shikamaru pointed at the goop. "That's what's up. We touch that, we get fucked up mentally and likely physically, if the enemies are anything to go by." He pulled his **[Katon: Endan]** scroll from his inventory and immediately learned it, along with the **[Tree Walking]** scroll he had. Both became shadows that engulfed Shikamaru and he shuddered slightly at the new knowledge in his brain.

 _ **Katon: Endan**_ _ **(Active) LVL: 1 EXP: 0.00% Cost: 295 CP: This skill is the basics of any fire nature user, the chakra inside of the users body is converted into flames and expelled through the mouth. The toad variant involves creating oil in the mouth, though this is extremely difficult to master.**_

 _ **Hand seals: Snake -Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger**_

 _ **Deals 52 fire damage**_

 _ **1% chance of [Burning] status effect**_

 _ **Charge time- 2 seconds**_

 _ **Tree Walking**_ _ **(Active) LVL: 1 EXP: 0.00% Cost: 5 CP per second: The second Chakra Control method created in Hi no Kuni. The closer to mastery this skill becomes, the less Chakra is wasted in all Chakra based skills.**_

 _ **Allows for walking on all solid surfaces**_

 _ **-0% CP cost to all Chakra based skills.**_

Shikamaru ignored Anko's stares and quickly tested out his new offensive skill. He took a deep breath after his hand signs and shot out a fireball from his mouth after two seconds. "Takes too long." He wondered why his **[Tree Walking]** was labeled in seconds instead of minutes, then realized that the cost of his **[Leaf Concentration]** was so low that it had to be labeled in minutes, but it was draining him by seconds. Taking in account for his chakra regeneration speed, he wouldn't be able to keep it up forever. In fact, he could only do it for a few minutes. He needed to work on that. "Alright, I think that I can fight against these things now without touching them."

Anko glared at Shikamaru. "So...you had me get that scroll...so you could eat it?"

Shikamaru nodded as he looked around. "Well, we can't leave until we get through the boss, so we sho-"

 _ **Would you like to leave the dungeon?**_

 _ **[Yes/No]**_

"...Nevermind, we can leave whenever we want. Weird."

Anko nodded as she allowed her pair of katar style daggers drop from her sleeves and into her hands. "Well, at least we can bug out when it gets too dangerous for ya, kid." She hummed as she looked around and stretched, unconsciously pushing her breasts out, making Shikamaru groan. "...What? It works on perverts. A lot of perverts. I bet it would even work on Jiraiya of the Sannin."

Shikamaru shrugged as he equipped his kunai and began to walk in a random direction. "Let's just hurry this up. We're on a time table, remember?"

Anko pouted as she tossed a clean skewer into the eye of a satyr that was coming out of the bushes. "Fine…Ruin my fun."

The two traversed the now more goopy forest for a while, noting that more dryads popped up than satyrs and pixies now, meaning that this was the floor to get mystic wood. They soon reached a large, empty clearing that had a sleeping bull in it. Shikamaru glanced at it's info, then groaned very quietly.

 _ **Ancient Corruption**_

 _ **LVL: 24**_

 _ **Mutated Minotaur**_

"It's level 24. Give me a minute to think of a plan, then w-"

Anko grinned as she bounded forward and then leapt high into the air whilst performing hand signs. She seemed to launch a senbon into the monster's hide, but there was a very slight glimmer of light in between her and the needle. The snake mistress smirked as she held something to her mouth and blew fire on it. The flame shot towards the minotaur in a straight line and when it reached the beast, the flame suddenly became a large explosion. She landed on the ground with a smirk and glanced back at Shikamaru. "That's how it's done, gaki!"

Shika groaned as he looked over at where the minotaur should be, then hopped up into a tree as he saw a purple ooze sprouting from the ground. "Anko get back!"

Anko scoffed as she looked back at the Minotaur, then Shushinned out of the way when she saw a large axe flying towards where she was standing. She appeared next to Shikamaru and saw that the minotaur had finally stood up and released a roar as corruption leaked from a hole where the explosion was. She watched it yank a chain and saw the axe fly back into its hand. "Okay...plan time gaki."

Shikamaru nodded as he stared down the creature. He noted that it had glowing purple eyes, possibly a sign of advanced stages of corruption, but that didn't help him. He looked at Anko, then placed a hand on her as he visualized his own chakra flowing into her and refilling what little chakra that attack needed. It was extremely wasteful, but he got a decent skill from it.

 _ **For discovering a forgotten chakra exercise, take + 2 WIS.**_

 _ **You have obtained the skill [Chakra Transfer]**_

 _ **Chakra Transfer**_ _**(Active): LV: 1 EXP: 0.00%: CP Cost: Special: To be able to purify chakra to the extent of gifting to an ally is invaluable to a support ninja or leader.**_

 _ **Allows for the transfer of one's chakra to a target of their choosing.**_

 _ **Rate of transfer is dependant on the user**_

 _ **Range: Touch**_

 _ **Maximum targets: 1**_

He smirked at that. "Okay, I think that I have a plan that involves a lot of fire and a lot of wind."

Anko glanced at Shikamaru when he refilled her Chakra reserves up, then nodded. "I'm guessing that I'm going to have to play off of you, so you use your fire ability, and I'll use my wind to support it." She smirked as she prepared her hands. "Not to bad of a plan Gaki."

Shikamaru sighed. "It would be better if I had any idea what this thing was capable of. And honestly, you being here kind of takes all of the tension out of this."

Anko scoffed. "Let's just kill this thing and move on. Okay?" She pushed Shikamaru off of the tree and hopped down behind him. "Do it now!"

Shikamaru ran forward with a chakra dash as he charged up a **Katon: Endan**. He released the fireball and performed a kawarimi with a log to get behind Anko, who had already released her **Fūton: Daitoppa**. He watched as his fireball grew much larger before exploding against the minotaur. But it still wasn't dead. He was pushed out of the way of an axe throw that completely obliterated a large row of trees behind him.

Anko groaned as she grabbed Shikamaru and leapt to another tree. "Okay Gaki! New plan! You go and distract it while I prep something! Okay? GO!" She threw Shikamaru at the minotaur.

"YOU BITCH!" Shika screamed at Anko as he adjusted himself mid-flight so he would land on the ground in a roll before sprinting towards the large beast and closing his eyes. "Sorry about this." He suddenly used chakra dash to run in between the beasts legs and castrate him with his kunai. He winced as he looked back to see the beast falling on its knees. He heard Anko laughing in the distance as he ran around the bull man and stabbed it in both of his eyes, then its ears, ruining its virility, sight, and equilibrium in quick succession. He leapt back when he noticed a wild swipe coming at him, but the axe suddenly changed direction and smacked him across the clearing. Shika replaced himself with a log to keep himself from falling into a pool of corruption and panted as he stood in place, actively regenerating chakra. Two konoha variant kawarimi took a lot out of him. He saw the minotaur stand slowly, then cursed when he saw it open its non ruined eyes. "Anko, this thing can regenerate!"

Anko cursed as she wrote down a few things on chakra paper. She appeared behind the large monster in a burst of speed and smacked ten sealing tags on the thing before appearing next to Shikamaru and jumping onto a tree. She held up a singular hand sign and watched as those ten tags exploded at once, blowing the top half of the monster off of its bull like legs. "Well...if all else fails, blow it to fucking bits." She then looked at Shikamaru and started laughing. "You cut its dick off! That was hilarious!"

 _ **You have gained 3 levels! (EXP reduced due to Rank gap between allies)**_

 _ **[Chakra Dash] has gained a level!**_

 _ **[Dagger Mastery] has gained a level!**_

 _ **[Katon: Endan] has gained a level!**_

Shikamaru sighed as he watched the minotaur slowly fade away. "That was...kinda boring." He hopped off of the tree and walked over to the fading corpse to pick up a skill book. It was for something called **[Power Strike]** but he decided to pocket that for now. He also picked up the 6000 Ryo and tossed half of it back at Anko. He then picked up a piece of cloth and observed it.

 _ **Minotaur's Loincloth**_

And that's all he bothered to read before he dropped it back onto the ground. Shikamaru sighed as he looked back at Anko and sighed as he saw her pointing up with a vicious grin on her face. "...Fine." He pressed the button to proceed to the next level and then began to cough as he inhaled a purple fog.

 _ **Stage Hazzard: Poison Gas!**_

 _ **This poison gas is potent enough to harm even Shinobi! -5% of HP per minute!**_

Shikamaru kept coughing until he felt Anko place something over his face. It appeared to be one of her face masks, which he immediately tied to his face. "Thanks…" He felt the poison slowly coursing through his body as he counted the seconds until a minute had passed. Once that had happened, he felt the poison leave his body.

 _ **[Poison Resistance] has gained a level!**_

Anko chuckled. "You're seriously going to let this bit of poison get ya down? What a lightweight." She sighed as she looked around, seeing mushrooms emitting the purple fog. "Yeah...maybe we should wait. You aren't used to poisons yet, so until that happens, no going to stage three." She waited until Shikamaru pulled them out of the dungeon before grabbing her mask back from him. "Anyways, I have been given permission to teach you how to torture! From first hand experience!"

Shikamaru sighed. "By first hand you mean a scroll, right?"

Anko shook her head with a grin as she dragged Shikamaru off.

"Troublesome…."

* * *

Shikamaru panted heavily as he recovered from his escape from the crazy snake bitch. He groaned as he stood up, then heard quiet sobbing. He looked around for a moment, then walked up to a sad Naruto. "Hey… what's the matter Naruto?"

Naruto sniffled. "I didn't pass…"

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "...Oh…"

Naruto nodded softly. "Yeah...all of that training we did was for nothing...It's not my fault that the kami forsaken Bunshin is so heavily weighted!"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at that. "...It isn't heavily weighted. Even if you couldn't do those, you still should have passed with mid grades. I took that in account when I made our training schedule…"

Naruto closed his eyes and looked away. "It doesn't matter...thanks for being my friend anyways Shika...You made these last few months really fun."

Shikamaru blinked and then shook Naruto. "Oi...don't go killing yourself. Or drowning yourself in Ramen, okay? Let me talk to the hokage, and I'll see what I can do, alright?"

Naruto nodded softly. "Sure...Thanks Shika...I think that I'll just sit here for a bit and think."

Shikamaru chuckled. "Well now I need to hurry. You thinking is never a good sign."

Naruto glared at Shikamaru for a second, then chuckled. "Yeah… thanks Shikamaru."

Shika nodded, then ran towards the hokage's office and immediately burst into the Hokage's office, damn the consequences. He interrupted a meeting with Iruka. "Hokage-sama." He walked up to the desk and stared the old man down. "What the hell is this?!"

Iruka glared at Shikamaru. "Young man, I expect you to give more respect to your Hokag-"

Shikamaru shifted his glare to Iruka. " **Shut your damn mouth Iruka. This is actually important."** He used just enough K.I. to interrupt Iruka, which was all he could really muster. He stared at the Hokage again. "Care to explain why the hell Naruto didn't pass?!"

Hiruzen blinked. "Naruto...didn't pass the exam?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "No, he didn't. I specifically made him ignore the Bunshin because he doesn't have the control to use his massive chakra reserves to create two working, useless clones! Anyone with eyes would find them useless! They can't do jack shit except for stand there! So care to explain why he failed, when he should have **easily passed with mid graded marks?!"** He allowed some more KI to leak out to show that how pissed he actually was, even if **[Gamer's Mind]** was keeping him calm and logical, all it did was focus his rage and keep him from having an outburst as it slowly made it fade. Not to mention he was allowing himself to be pissed off.

Hiruzen stared at Shikamaru, then pulled up the file for Naruto and read through it. "As before, it is saying that he is lacking all things ninja-"

Shikamaru slammed his hand on the desk. "Which you know for a fact is a crock of shit! So does Iruka!"

Iruka nodded. "It's true. Someone has doctored Naruto's test results. I gave him a much higher grade for the written portion of the test."

Shikamaru was suddenly glad that the quest to make Naruto pass didn't complete just yet. The day wasn't over yet. "I say let him retake the test with us three as the proctors. Tomorrow. And I'll tell him in the morning, because I have no clue where he is right now."

The hokage nodded softly. "Yes, I believe that would be a fair test. And while I wish for you to not barge in like this in the future, you had a very good reason to do so. I'll arrange for it, and I will find out who falsified Naruto's test results."

Shikamaru became suddenly calm. "Good. Make sure that happens, because I don't think that he would be able to stay sane if he were paired with Sasuke."

Iruka closed his eyes and seemed to focus on something, then sighed. "I can barely feel him. He's suppressing his chakra somehow, probably something he learned how to do to get away from sensors who wanted to kill him."

Shikamaru's eyes went wide at that. "...What…?" He gritted his teeth as his KI leaked out again.

Hiruzen noticed this and then sighed. "Yes. Naruto has been the target of approximately forty assassination attempts by our own village. You likely saw the real Naruto for a brief moment when you saw how sad he was. He usually does not have anyone to spend time with, so I believe that you have cheered him up just by being there for him."

Shikamaru's fists were clenched so hard that he began to take damage. " **Those bastards…"** There was extreme strain on his face as he tried to resist **[Gamer's Mind]**. But in the end, he became deathly calm.

 **[Project Intent] has gained a level!**

Shikamaru sighed. "My apologies. I just won't allow this to go on any further, and I doubt that Anko-san would either when she hears about it."

Anko broke through the window. " **OH I HEARD GAKI!"** Her KI was extremely brutal as Shika was forced to the floor. " **WHO ARE THEY SO I CAN MAKE THEM BEG FOR DEATH, THEN MAKE THEM EAT OUT OF A TUBE THROUGH THEIR ASS FOR THE REST OF THEIR MISERABLE EXISTENCES?!"**

The hokage glanced at Anko before immediately snuffing out her KI. "Calm yourself Anko. They are no longer in the village through varying reasons. If they actually got to Naruto, you won't find them. They are in the deepest prison we have being tortured constantly."

Anko growled as she took a few deep breaths. "...Fine. I'll live with that. Now then, what was this about my gaki failing?"

Shikamaru groaned. "We've been there already Anko. He's retaking the tests tomorrow under neutral proctors. He'll pass, and won't be on a team with the Uchiha.:

Anko nodded. "Good. He wouldn't survive with someone with such a revenge boner for his brother." She then grabbed Shikamaru and dragged him through the window. "I need some fucking dango! You're coming with me!"

Shikamaru sighed as he was dragged through the air. "Any reason why?"

Anko nodded again. "To show you how sacred dango time is compared to the blond Gaki's ramen time!"

"I swear...just dye his hair purple and make him a chick, and we get you."

Anko soon dragged Shika into a dango shop and ordered her usual fifty sticks of dango and a pot of green tea. "Sit."

Shikamaru sighed as he sat down. "Fine. I'll go along with this." He waited silently as he put a leaf on his forehead and began to regenerate Chakra while he did so. He did some quick calculations in his head and then placed eleven more on his body before resuming his meditation. His CP regen was high enough at this point to hold twelve leaves on his body constantly. His control was getting better as well.

Anko sipped at her tea with a relaxed smile on her face. "I brought you here because this is really the only place I can relax. And I didn't feel like leaving you alone to stew in your anger, because suppressing it like you do isn't good. Take it from someone who has experience with that."

Shikamaru hummed quietly in response. He heard a window pop up, but ignored it as he slowly fell into a meditative trance. He didn't even realize that he was doing it, but that's kinda the point. It was calming him down as he cleared his head. He heard multiple windows pop up before he was punched in the face. "...Anko, what the hell?"

Anko groaned. "Dango's here." She immediately began to eat one. "And you're paying."

Shikamaru sighed as he looked at the windows.

 _ **[Leaf Concentration] has gained a level!**_

 _ **[Leaf Concentration] has gained a level!**_

 _ **[Leaf Concentration] has gained a level!**_

 _ **[Leaf Concentration] has gained a level!**_

 _ **[Leaf Concentration] has gained a level!**_

He grabbed a stick of Dango and began to eat it. "...This is really good." He then decided to be curious and observe it.

 **Ninja Dango**

 **This dango has been specially designed for ninjas to enjoy as much as they can without any adverse effects on their body.**

 **When consumed, HP regeneration increases by 5% for 5 minutes**

 **When consumed, CP regeneration increases by 5% 5 minutes.**

His eyes widened at that and then immediately began to analyze it, causing the thing to shatter. He needed that recipe. Absolutely needed it, one hundred percent. "This is...valuable."

Anko chuckled. "I know! Why do you think I...you have that look in your eye gaki."

Shika nodded. "Yeah… with my ability, it increases my healing and chakra regeneration by five percent. I doubt that I can get the ability to compound on itself, but if I get cooking to a high enough level, it'll be much stronger."

Anko practically inhaled a seventh stick of Dango. "By better, do you mean better tasting, or better practically?"

Shika shrugged. "Take your pick."

Anko laughed as she looked over at the person at the counter serving desserts. "Could we get this to go? I need to take this Genin out drinking! I also need to get drunk!"

Shika shook his head. "I already drank enough yesterday. Inoichi nearly poisoned me with Shushu-ya sake."

Anko snickered. "Oh you lightweight! We need to build your tolerance up so you can drink like Tsunade! But not get drunk!"

Shikamaru sighed as he ate another dango skewer before it was boxed away. "I won't get any options, will I?"

Anko laughed heavily. "Shit no! Let's go!"She looked at Shikamaru expectantly.

Shika sighed and then looked at the owner who pointed up at the menu. There was an actual special called the 'Mitarashi Special' and it was 10000 ryo. "...Fine." He pulled exactly that much out of his Inventory and set it on the table before being dragged away to a bar.

* * *

Anko was dragged out of the bar by Shikamaru. "A-Alsh I'm shaying ish 'at 'r….'ne fuckin' handful g-gaki!" She hiccupped loudly. "S-Shay...w-whattimeish...it?"

Shikamaru looked up at the sky with a sigh. "Half past 'go to sleep you crazy woman'. Now then, what I need to do i-" A window popped up in front of Shikamaru, prompting him to drop Anko on the ground.

 _ **!QUEST ALERT!**_

 _ **Game of Fox and Snake**_

 _ **Main Objective 1: Protect Naruto**_

 _ **Main Objective 2: Kill ?**_

 _ **Side Objective: Save the one potential casualty**_

 _ **Main Rewards: Naruto Saved, 5000 EXP, 10 Skill Points, ?**_

 _ **Side reward: ? saved, 2000 EXP, ?**_

 _ **Failure: Death of Naruto, ?**_

 _ **This quest cannot be refused.**_

Shikamaru was immediately running away at full speed, dual kunai in hand. Naruto is going to die if he isn't fucking fast enough. He activated **[Chakra Dash]** and jumped from roof to roof. He suddenly felt a huge flash of KI and it felt...kinda familiar. Kinda like… ' _When Iruka-sensei gets angry!'_ He immediately took off in that direction and it turned out to be in the forest. He crept through the trees and saw Iruka staring down Mizuki. He went ahead and looked at the both of the adults.

 _ **Moulder of Minds**_

 _ **Iruka Umino**_

 _ **LVL: 58**_

 _ **Servant of the Snake**_

 _ **Mizuki**_

 _ **LVL: 61**_

' _His title changed...Mizuki…'_ Shika gripped his kunai harder. Naruto seemed to be frozen in shock over something, Iruka was standing in front of the boy protectively, and Mizuki's arm was reeled back to throw his Fūma Shuriken. ' _Son of a...no no no!'_ He dashed in front of Iruka as the instructor turned around to protect Naruto. Shika snarled in pain as he caught the giant weapon by the blades, not able to afford catching it in the middle. He glared at Mizuki as he blatantly stored into his Inventory.

 **HP: 600/875**

"Hello...Mizuki." He glared at the Chunin with his eyes blank. "Nice night for snake catching, isn't it?"

Mizuki snarled as he took a step back in shock. "W-Where did you come from brat?! What did you do with my weapon?!"

Iruka looked up at Shikamaru. "Shikamaru, what are you doing here?"

Naruto seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in. "S-Shika?!"

Shikamaru glanced back at Naruto and smirked. "You guys look pathetic on the ground. Come on. This bastard is nothing." He held his hands at Mizuki, showing that there wasn't a scratch on him. "See? He can't even hurt a fresh Genin with his giant shuriken, which has to be for compensation purposes, right Iruka?" He discreetly made the symbols for a **Katon: Endan** as he looked back at Mizuki. "Is it the fact that no one wanted you so you don't have a last name, or is it that you have a small di-"

Apparently that's all Mizuki would have of that. He rushed Shika with a snarl. "Quiet brat! You have no clue of what you speak!"

Shika's smirk turned from confident to vicious as he released his jutsu right in the face of Mizuki, causing a small explosion to throw the man's head back.

Iruka quickly took this opportunity to grab a kunai from his pouch, appeared behind Mizuki, and slashed him in the back. He saw blood fly off of his blades, then quickly appeared back at Naruto's side.

Shikamaru hopped back to join Naruto and Iruka. "Damn...this won't be as easy as I thought." He closed his eyes as he performed the signs for his shadow possession jutsu. "Naruto, I need a distraction. Then I can do something that will let Iruka go in for the kill."

Naruto nodded with a big grin on his face as he made a cross with his fingers. "You got it! One distraction coming right up! **Tajuu-Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** Around the entire battlefield hundreds of clones of Naruto appeared in puffs of smoke. "Attack!" He threw his hand towards Mizuki and the clones all yelled out as one and dog piled onto Mizuki.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and activated his chakra regeneration skill as he extended his shadow to buy a single second against the enemy Chunin. "Iruka, when I grab him, there will be no time to waste. I'm going to throw the shuriken at him. It's your job to kill him."

Iruka nodded softly as he saw the Fūma Shuriken appear on Shikamaru's back. Iruka suddenly grabbed the weapon and launched it with much more force than the pineapple haired boy could muster at this moment, then began to flip through hand signs quickly and took a deep breath. He waited for the smoke of the slaughtered clones to fade to reveal Mizuki impaled with his own Fūma Shuriken. In the corner of his eye, he saw Shikamaru collapse in exhaustion. He glared at Mizuki before releasing a string of fireballs at the now missing-nin.

Mizuki's eyes widened and he tried to throw himself out of the way of the fire, but the flame bullets curved towards him and all of them reached their intended target. He let out a loud scream of pain as he burned alive.

Naruto's face turned a little green at the sight if the burning man and the smell of charring bone and flesh. He kept getting more and more nauseous before he ran to the side and threw up whatever ramen he had for lunch.

Shikamaru looked up at Iruka. "Shouldn't we finish him off…?"

Iruka shook his head as he prepared his kunai. "No. He isn't done. He's acting like he's burning alive."

Mizuki chuckled as he forced the flames off of him. "Like always Umino, you're right." He snarled as he pulled his weapon out of his chest, then grinned when the hole slowly closed up. "My master gave me the gift of regeneration." He brushed away the dead skin where the wound used to be. "Granted I can't do much with it yet, but this is more than enough against you three." He then growled as he felt three blades stab him in the back. He looked behind himself and saw Ami glaring up at him. "Hello Ami. Nice night, isn't it?" He grabbed onto her wrist and yanked the claws out before throwing her over his shoulder. "Why are you even here?"

Ami let out a cry of pain as she was tossed over to the rest of the group. She stood up behind Shikamaru with a growl and cracked her neck. "We got this, right Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru quickly stood up as the feedback pain from his jutsu breaking and then groaned. "Honestly, I'm very sceptical that's the case." He closed his eyes and allowed his emotions to fade entirely. "Naruto. More clones. As many as you can make, just keep the pressure on him." He looked at Iruka. "Signal for reinforcements if you haven't already, because the best we can do is distract him."

Iruka sent out a discreet pulse of chakra, that being the second time he had done that. He used the Kawarimi with one of Naruto's shadow clones to get behind Mizuki, which gave Shika an idea.

Shikamaru nodded and then looked Ami. "How good are you at the Kawarimi and Henge?"

Ami seemed confused for a moment before nodded and transforming herself into a perfect copy of Naruto and ran into the fray without her claws. It would be a dead giveaway.

Shikamaru looked at Naruto and appeared behind him with a Chakra dash. "Give me the scroll Naruto. I'm going to try something… that's probably really stupid." When he got the scroll with no objections, a window popped up.

 _ **You have obtained a skill registry! For a moderate cost of CP, you will be granted access to abilities that you meet the prerequisites for! CP Cost: 400**_

 _ **Would you like to access the skill registry?**_

 _ **[Yes/No]**_

Shikamaru immediately pressed 'Yes' as he activated his **Chakra Regeneration** ability. He felt most of his Chakra get pulled into the scroll, and another window opened up with a list of skills.

 _ **[Kage Bunshin]**_

 _ **[Shuriken Kage Bunshin]**_

He immediately pressed on the Shuriken Kage Bunshin and felt shadows roll over him again.

 _ **You have learned the skill [Shuriken Kage Bunshin]**_

 _ **Shuriken Kage Bunshin**_ _ **(Active): LVL: 1 EXP: 0.00% Cost: 800 CP: The Shuriken Shadow Clone technique creates physical clones of a single projectile.  
\- Hand Seals: Ox → Dog → Dragon → Rat → Dog → Boar → Snake → Tiger**_

 _ **Can create 8 hard copies of an object.**_

 _ **Cloned objects will be dispelled at will or in 5 minutes.**_

Shikamaru nodded at the new knowledge, then stored the scroll into his Inventory for safe keeping. He dashed into the fray once he Henged into Naruto and snaked his way through the clones. He saw Iruka in the crowd getting knocked around, so he dashed by and plucked the giant shuriken off of Mizuki's back and stored it before getting kicked away hard. He tumbled a bit once he hit the ground. "Ame! Iruka! Move!" He watched one Naruto retreat and saw Iruka Shunshin away. He then quickly dumped all 15 of his points into STR and threw the giant shuriken at Mizuki as hard as he could. When he saw Mizuki's smug face turn towards the giant weapon, Shika quickly flipped through the required hand seals for his new jutsu. He groaned at the rest of his Chakra draining, but the face Mizuki made when there were nine Fūma Shuriken flying at him at high speeds made it worth it. He felt an odd satisfaction when he heard the blades sink into Mizuki loudly, as if he just wanted this man to die.

The black haired boy dashed forward and suddenly grasped the real shuriken and brutally sliced through Mizuki's abdomen with it, blood splashing on his face. He felt himself get bashed away again, his HP dropping even further as he slammed into a tree. "Fucker…"

Mizuki snarled as he appeared in front of Shikamaru with one of the shurikens in his hand. "Brat, you just gave me more weapons to work with!" He yanked one of the shuriken out of his body and slashed down at Shikamaru. His eyes widened at Shikamaru's smirk.

"Kai."

The shuriken all poofed away in an instant, the force of the swing suddenly throwing Mizuki off balance.

Iruka dashed forward and quickly pulled some ninja wire out of one of his pouches before wrapping the wire around Mizuki's neck, immediately drawing blood. "I wanted to bring you in alive, but no one hurts my students you _bastard!_ " He yanked the open side of the spool as hard as he could, the razor wire easily sawing through Mizuki's throat, and the force behind it snapping his neck, allowing the wire to cut through, making it a clean decapitation. He panted as blood sprayed out of what used to be Mizuki's neck at the sudden change in pressure, then watched it fall next to him, the blood now just pouring out of the body. He crouched down next to Shikamaru and picked him up. "Are you okay Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru nodded softly, then looked at Naruto and Ami, who were both on their last legs. "They need your help more than I do…"

Iruka shook his head. "No, they're exhausted, but your chakra is dangerously low! You need to-"

Shikamaru walked over to his unofficial team, stepping on Mizuki's corpse as he did. He collapsed onto his knees next to his friends, then let out a soft chuckle of disbelief as he fell onto his back.

 _ **You have gained 4 levels! (EXP reduced due to Rank gap between allies)**_

 _ **!QUEST COMPLETE!**_

 _ **Game of Fox and Snake**_

 _ **Main Objective 1: Protect Naruto**_

 _ **Main Objective 2: Kill Mizuki**_

 _ **Side Objective: Save the one potential casualty**_

 _ **Main Rewards: Naruto and Iruka Saved, 7000 EXP, 10 Skill Points, [Beginner's Fuinjutsu] skill book, [Detect Chakra] skill book.**_

Naruto and Ami were both over at Shikamaru and helped him to sit up. Naruto looked really concerned for his friend. "Iruka-sensei is right Shika. You need to rest…" He still looked really shaken up. He wasn't hiding behind a grin.

Shikamaru sighed as he looked at his two friends. "Yeah, well… it's a good chance to be lazy...for once…" He then looked at Naruto. "...Did he tell you about the fox?"

Naruto's eyes widened. "W-What do you..mean…?"

Shikamaru chuckled. "Did he tell you that the fox is sealed in you? Or did he tell you that you were the fox? Because believe me, having it sealed in you is much different than you being the Kyuubi."

Naruto sniffled, showing tears. "H-He said I was the fox...I understand….if you don't want to be friends anymo-" He was interrupted by a flick to the forehead.

"Idiot...you're the fox's warden…" Shika's face immediately looked less exhausted as his CP had risen back to around halfway full. "Anyone under Jōnin at the time of the attack knew nothing about fuinjutsu, and the civilians even less. And as much as I'd like to prove it to you, you'd have to see for yourself by getting into that hot mess of a head of yours."

Ami chuckled softly as she bopped Naruto on the head. "Besides, even if you were the fox, it wouldn't matter to us. We're your friends Naruto, and honestly, I'd like it if you would have a little more faith in us." She looked at her claws and sighed at their broken state. "Can these get fixed?"

Shikamaru nodded softly. "Yeah...but, how did you get here?"

Hiruzen cleared his throat as he walked up to the group of ninja. "I directed her in this direction. All I had to say is that you two were in danger and she practically demanded that she be here. And who was I to break up such a tight knit team?"

Naruto looked up at the Hokage. "J-Jiji, do you really mean that?" He then gasped as he caught a forehead protector with a dark orange cloth instead of the standard black. "I...passed?"

Hiruzen chuckled as he nodded. "Of course you did Naruto. If your results weren't doctored, you would have passed the first time. Mizuki simply wanted to use you to get the Scroll of Seals….speaking of, you wouldn't happen to know where it went, would you?"

Shikamaru lazily pulled the giant scroll out of his Inventory. "Hokage-sama...with your permission, I would like to learn a single jutsu from the scroll."

The hokage sighed, then nodded. "I suppose I can allow it, if you are able to handle it, I won't stop you."

Shikamaru nodded and then activated the skill registry again, having to pay 600 CP this time to access it, and he learned the Kage Bunshin, because his whole shtick was shadow manipulation, and more shadows to work with would be great.

 _ **The skill [Kage Bunshin] has been learned**_

 _ **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu(Shadow Clone Technique)**_ _ **(Active): LVL: 1 EXP: 0.00% CP Cost: Special: A Jonin level technique capable of evolving into a kinjutsu due to the various side effects of cloning.**_

 _ **Hand Seals: Clone Seal OR Tiger OR Horse**_

 _ **Minimum cost per clone- 1000 CP**_

 _ **Clones are solid, but dispel if 1HP is lost**_

 _ **Memories from the clone are transferred to the original.**_

Shika smiled and then activated the skill with the index and middle fingers of his hands formed in a cross. A clone of him appeared next to the group in a puff of smoke. "This is...odd."

The hokage nodded, then threw a kunai into the clones face, dispelling it. He saw Shikamaru's reaction, which was a briefly pale face, then sighed. "I see that you know everything about the Kage Bunshin, including the price that is not chakra. I'm certain that you can handle it though."

Shikamaru nodded as he gave his Hokage the Scroll of Seals. "Thank you, Hokage-sama...If we are Genin, do you believe my ability will evolve?"

Hiruzen chuckled. "There is only one way to find out. You mentioned to Inoichi that your power evolves once you sleep, though you do not have need of it. I would suggest allowing your soul to rest for the night."

Shikamaru nodded, then looked at Naruto. "I'm crashing at your place tonight Naruto."

Naruto reeled back in shock, making a noise to supplement that. "W-What?! But my place isn't ready for guests! It's super dirty!"

Shikamaru sighed and then stood up. "I'll get some things for dinner, Ami, you come too. Naruto, you should hurry and clean up. Use your Clones if you have to." He then looked at the Hokage. "You know, as much as I want to say that an obvious solution to your paperwork problem is the Kage Bunshin, I assume that it only works if they want to do the work, which they won't, due to the fact that they're a perfect copy of you, am I correct?"

Hiruzen sighed with a nod. "Unfortunately yes. Whenever I made clones in the past, they all agreed that the original should have to do the paperwork because I wouldn't be setting a good example otherwise."

Shikamaru chuckled at that as he began to walk away. "Well, they have a point, but I have something that I need to do right now."

Naruto watched Shikamaru leave, then paled. "Oh no he's serious! SHIT! I have to go Jiji! Thank you!" He then dashed off to clean his apartment.

Ami sighed as she shook her head. "Boys…" She turned to the Hokage and bowed before running off towards Shikamaru. The two talked about what foods to make, and grabbed the ingredients needed for those meals before heading off to Naruto's apartment, entering through the top floor. Ami didn't bother knocking as she opened the door, revealing Naruto trying to stuff a bunch of instant ramen packets in the couch. "...Naruto, come on."

Naruto sighed as he looked at his friends. "Hey, it's not my fault that the clones didn't want to do the work!"

Shikamaru sighed as he made his singular clone. "You know what to do?"

The clone nodded. "Help Ami with the cooking while you help Naruto actually clean?"

The original sighed. "It was supposed to be the other way around, but I'll compromise." He walked over to Naruto's cabinet to look for any bags, and found a lot of ramen. More ramen….Kami, even more ramen. "Naruto, what did I say about eating ramen all the time?"

Naruto paled at Shikamaru's tone. "U-Umm...I-It's the only thing that the shop keepers would sell me! Honest!"

Shikamaru groaned softly as he rubbed his temples. "Troublesome….fine. I'll do your shopping for you, or send a clone to do it if they're willing. You provide the Ryo though, okay?"

Naruto immediately brightened up and had a huge grin on his face. "Okay! This is great! I can finally add eggs and pork to my rame-...err…" He looked at Shikamaru who still seemed annoyed. "I….mean that I'll be able to eat a wider variety of food...s…?"

Shikamaru sighed as he began to just shove the trash into his Inventory. "I'll dump this out a window or into your landlords trash later. Just show me where everything is." The two boys cleaned as Ami showed Shikamaru's clone how to effectively chop up bundles of Negi* at once, because despite Shikamaru not wanting Naruto to eat a ton of ramen, tonight was a celebration. So they made homemade ramen, even made the noodles by hand and quickly cooked everything with the occasional low power **Katon:Endan** , because the gas on Naruto's stove liked to cut out occasionally. Admittedly, it was nowhere near as good as Ichiraikus, but it was a hell of a lot better than instant ramen.

Naruto grinned at the smell of the ramen. "That smells so gooood!" He ran over to the clone and patted him hard on the back, causing him to dispel.

 _ **[Cooking] has gained a level!**_

Shikamaru stared at the window, filtering out the memories of the clone. "...Oh."

* * *

 **Well, I was finally able to find the drive to write once again. It's going to be kinda rough and patchwork compared to what I'm used to doing, but I'm going to try to get better again. Maybe starting over from scratch might be a good idea, not with the story, but with my writing style. Regardless, thank you guys for bearing with me, I apologize for those who lost their patience with me, and thank you guys so much for reading my...I wouldn't call it crap, but...maybe slop? I don't know. Regardless, thank you.**

 ***Negi - Japanese long onions**


	5. Doragon to Kitsune

**Writing this immediately after the last chapter. If I stop then I'm afraid that I'll lose what I found again. So I'm just going to dive right on in again.**

* * *

"Speech"

' _Thought'_

" _Telepathy"_

 **"** _ **Demons"**_

 **"Jutsu"**

 **Windows/Skills**

* * *

Shikamaru was now laying on the ground, staring up at the window that had appeared before his team ate. He could get experience from Shadow Clones. ' _This opens up so many more options…'_ He pulled up his Status page and took a quick look.

 _ **Name: Shikamaru Nara**_

 _ **Title: The Gamer**_

 _ **Job: Ninja**_

 _ **Rank: Student (+ 20% EXP gain to all Academy Skills until they reach Skill LVL 20)**_

 _ **Affiliation: Konoha**_

 _ **LVL: 19 Next LVL: 0.00%**_

 _ **HP: 875/875 (Regen: 17.5 per minute)**_

 _ **CP: 1183/1183 (Regen: 118.77 (24.13 + 94.64] per minute)**_

 _ **STR: 48**_

 _ **VIT: 35**_

 _ **DEX: 56**_

 _ **INT: 41**_

 _ **WIS: 28**_

 _ **LUK: 14**_

 _ **Skill Points: 30**_

 _ **Ryō:6781**_

 _ **Perks:**_

 _ **Nara Heritage: Allows usage of the Yin Release to manipulate Darkness**_

 _ **Genius: + 50% EXP gain to INT, when focused, answers come much easier**_

 _ **Shogi Journeyman: +25% EXP to WIS when playing Shogi.**_

He received four levels from Mizuki, and ten more from the sudden quest. His CP was as high as it was due to almost always having his _**[Chakra Regeneration]**_ skill on, along with the fact that his INT was almost at ninja levels. While he could dump everything into his other stats, raising nearly everything up to past fifty… ' _No. I need to save them for emergencies. Specifically then. Otherwise I'll be stuck in a situation that I wouldn't be able to get out of.'_ He smirked to himself. ' _Besides, I can have Shadow clones raising INT and WIS while I train my physical stats. I can only make one at a time, but I should limit myself to three. One to study, and two to play against each other in Shogi matches. If you can beat yourself, then you can defeat your enemy.'_

 _ **For carefully considering your personal growth, you have gained +1 WIS!**_

Shikamaru nodded to himself, then made a Shadow clone. "Hey, could you do me a favor and get to studying? We need to raise our INT quickly."

The clone sighed. "Why would I do that?"

Shikamaru sighed as well. "Because I'm the only one who can work on our physical stats, and I need three of you to work on mental statistics."

The clone stared at the original, then sighed again as he rubbed his temples. "Troublesome...alright. I'll play along. You think that I'll get the notifications?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "No clue. Let's find out." He then looked at the couch to see Naruto snoring away, and then peeked into the bedroom to see Ami, who insisted on sleeping in the bed fast asleep. ' _I don't need sleep...let's make the most of my time.'_ He jumped out the window and began to lightly jog around Konoha, mentally making a map in his head. Sure the minimap was good, but the problem with that is it's only from a bird's eye view. He needed to see things from the ground.

"YOOOOSHHH!"

The black haired boy blinked at the sound, then looked behind him to see a green...thing running straight at him at high speeds. He leapt out of the way of the person, who instead skidded to a halt in front of him. It was a kid with a very weird spandex suit on, orange wrist and shin wraps on, black eyes, very bushy eyebrows, and a shiny bowl cut. "...Hi…?"

The kid grinned at Shikamaru. "Hello! It's rare to see someone else beside me and Guy-sensei training at this hour of the day! The amount of youth that shines from your actions are tremendous!"

Shikamaru adopted a very confused look on his face, one that he rarely ever has. "...Thanks…?" ' _What's with this kid?'_

The bowl cut chuckled and then pointed a thumb at himself. "My name is Rock Lee! I am training to become a Taijutsu specialist like my sensei!"

Shikamaru glanced up above Lee's head and confirmed what he was saying.

 _ **Fist of Youth**_

 _ **Rock Lee**_

 _ **LVL: 37**_

Shikamaru then sighed. "So you're a Genin. So am I, as I just graduated yesterday."

Rock Lee seemed to snicker at that. "For one as youthful as yourself, I will give you a hint for your first assignment!" He leaned in close and stage whispered to him. "You aren't Genin until your sensei says you are!" He then snapped back into his previous position faster than Shikamaru could see, likely because he blinked. "YOSH! I hope to see you again someday as a true Genin!" He then began his sprint again, leaving Shikamaru in the dust.

Shika just stood there, staring forward as if he was in shock. He has never been so confused in his life, but he did vaguely remember something about a kid in the year above him not being able to mould chakra properly. Maybe that was him? ' _Never thought that I would see something like th-'_ His thoughts were interrupted by a much larger version of Lee standing in front of him. ' _Where did he come from?!'_ He looked above the man's head and then sighed. "Yes?"

 _ **The Green Beast of Youth**_

 _ **Might Guy**_

 _ **LVL: ?**_

The man gave Shikamaru a grin that seemed like a much more refined version of Lee's. "Good morning youthful Genin! Did you happen to see -" He was interrupted by Shikamaru pointing to his left. "AH! Thank you!" He stretched a bit, then took off in a sprint. "LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Shikamaru stared at the rapidly disappearing figure, then shook his head as he resumed his jog, silently contemplating what the hell just happened.

* * *

Shikamaru returned to the apartment a few hours later, covered in sweat. His VIT had risen by five because he relied on **[Gamer's Mind]** to let him refuse the strain of his body. Add to the fact that he didn't stop moving the entire time, even when he was completely exhausted probably did it. He made two more clones in that time and he saw them sitting in the middle of the floor playing Shogi with each other. He sighed as he as he sat down and looked at the board. "So who's winning?"

Clone 2 kept staring at the board before moving one of his pieces. "We're on move three hundred and forty-eight. We've been keeping track on a piece of paper."

Clone 3 nodded silently as he began to contemplate his remaining moves.

Shikamaru sighed again. "Well, how is the first clone doing?"

Clone 2 pointed at a desk that Clone 1 was using. "Go ask."

Shikamaru nodded as he got up and walked over to the first clone. "How's it going?"

Clone 1 sighed. "Pretty well. I just grabbed some random subjects and began to study them. I've been getting notifications saying that when I dispel, you'll receive INT points. Unfortunately, it seems to take that into account and the time gap between points is slowly growing larger. It's not as impressive of an exploit as we originally thought, but it's still an extreme time saver."

Shikamaru nodded as he created a fourth clone. "Hey, do you think that you could make breakfast? I need to do some more training before we go to the academy."

Clone 4 nodded with a sigh. "Might as well get some levels in our **[Cooking]** skill, right?" He walked over to the stove and then began to make omelettes, a dish that was popular in the more western countries.

Shikamaru sighed as he looked at a heavy night stand, then groaned. "Here we go…" He looked at Clone 1 as he got into a pushup position. "Could you put something somewhat heavy on my back?"

The clone immediately brought his book over to Shikamaru and then sat on his back. "Now you're training with twice the weight."

Shikamaru nodded as he began to do his exercises, having to perform around fifty pushups to get a single point in STR. He didn't know of any of the more effective strength training methods yet, so this was the best he could think of.

Naruto sniffed the air as he woke up slowly. "What smells good…?" He sat up and yawned loudly as he stretched. He smacked his lips as he stood up. "Good morning Shika, Shika, Shika, Shika, Shika." He walked over to his fridge to look for the leftover ramen from last night before his hand got smacked with a wooden spatula. "Ow! What was that for?!"

Clone 4 shook his head. "Ramen isn't a breakfast food. Go wake up Ami."

Naruto sighed and then walked over to his room, slowly realizing that there are five Shikamaru's in his home. "...WHY ARE THERE FIVE OF YOU?!"

Shika groaned in exertion. "He finally...notices…"

Clone one smacked the original on the head with a book. "Keep going. I'm liking this training method. It's really comfortable."

Clone three finally made his move against clone two on the board. "Just so you know, I have five windows saying that you'll get WIS when I dispel."

Clone two made his move immediately and marked another tally on the sheet of paper. "Funny, I have the same amount."

Ami sighed as she walked out of Naruto's room fully dressed. "Morning Naruto, Shikamaru's." She walked over to the fridge and grabbed something to drink. "Oh! Making breakfast are we? You'll make your wife proud one day Shika."

Clone 4 groaned as he finished the first omelette. "This is yours. Don't tempt me to douse it in hot sauce."

Ami chuckled as he grabbed her food. "Joke's on you, I love hot sauce." She walked over to the original Shikamaru, then began to push the clone on his back to the side. "Scooch." She sat down onto top of Shika, forcing a groan of near pain from him. "Oh quiet you baby. We all know that you can't get hurt."

Shikamaru growled from the brief pain, his arms shaking. "Doesn't mean that I can't feel pain Ami….you bitch."

Ami hit Shikamaru on the head with her chosen eating utensils. "Focus."

 _ **Your STR has increased by 1!**_

' _This is so annoying…'_

Anko kicked the door down with a grin. "Look at you three! Acting like a team already! One of you going through torture while other people sit on their asses! Makes me proud!" She kicked Shikamaru out from under the two sitting on him. "Get to the Academy lameasses! Old man's orders!" She then poofed out of existence, revealing she was a clone.

Shikamaru hit his head on a nearby wall, then looked up at the fourth clone who set a plate in front of him. "Just...give it to Naruto."

Naruto cheered from the counter as he received his food.

Shikamaru then stood up with a groan. "Okay…" He looked at the first clone. "One more book, then dispel." He then looked at the two clones playing Shogi. "Five more moves and then you two dispel, and four-" He turned to the clone who was now cleaning. "Dispel when you clean up." He pointed at Ame and Naruto. "You two, let's go. I don't want this to get any more troublesome than it already is looking like it will be."

* * *

Naruto kept poking Shikamaru. "Oi. Shika. I'm bored. When will our names be called?"

Kiba scoffed. "Why would your name be called Naruto? You're didn't pass!"

Shikamaru cracked open an eye and looked at Kiba.

 _ **Hound of Pride**_

 _ **Inuzuka Kiba**_

 _ **LVL: 11**_

"You've gotten stronger Kiba. Glad to see the talk my dad had with Tsume got you out of the spot you were in. Regardless, Naruto happened to pass his exam, but he also passed above Dobe because his tests were all tampered with. Except for the Bunshin, but that is because he has such large Chakra reserves that he cannot properly form those useless clones. It's a miracle that he can form two of them at all and one of them can walk." Shikamaru closed his eyes again.

Kiba laughed at that. "Really? And how would you know this Shikamaru? Have you been watching him?"

Shikamaru sighed. "If you want to know, the hokage offered me payment to be his tutor to teach him how to pass the exams. Needless to say, I am well aware of his capabilities, and I can say with confidence that the tests were rigged. Iruka even said so."

Shino cleared his throat. "Not to but in, however, that is the most I have ever heard you speak at once Shikamaru. Has something changed?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah. I killed three people who attacked my compound." He looked at Shino and smiled. "How are you Shino?"

 _ **Swarm of Logic**_

 _ **Aburame Shino**_

 _ **LVL: 12**_

Shino inclined his head towards Shikamaru. "I am fine. Thank you."

"A-Ano...Shikamaru-san…"

Shikamaru looked at Hinata and smiled at her as well. She wasn't a blonde, nor was she a troublesome woman, just female, so he had no problems with her. "Yes Hinata-san?"

 _ **Gently Spirals**_

 _ **Hyūga Hinata**_

 _ **LVL: 10**_

Hinata poked her fingers together shyly. "U-Um...Do you...know how much stronger Naruto-kun is...t-than the Uchiha?"

Naruto grinned. "Yeah Shika! You've always been a great judge of character! Tell us!"

Shikamaru sighed as he nodded. "Fine." He then looked at Naruto's words, then Sasuke's, who was sitting across the room.

 _ **Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi**_

 _ **Uzumaki Naruto**_

 _ **LVL: 13**_

 _ **Self Proclaimed Avenger**_

 _ **Uchiha Sasuke**_

 _ **LVL: 16**_

He then sighed as he closed his eyes again. "Let's just say the gap is getting smaller and leave it at that, okay?" He groaned as he tried to meditate, then was hit on the head by someone. "Ugh...what?"

Ino smirked as she looked at Shikamaru. "So, do you think that we're going to be on the same team?"

 _ **Dabbler of Minds**_

 _ **Yamanaka Ino**_

 _ **LVL: 8**_

Shikamaru immediately shook his head as he tried to ignore everything.

Chōji sighed. "We might be on the same team Ino, but as much as I want to have Shika on our team, I heard our parents discussing it last night and I don't think that it's going to happen."

 _ **Big Boned Connoisseur**_

 _ **Akimichi Chōji**_

 _ **LVL: 11**_

Ami chuckled as she sat on Shikamaru's desk just to bug him. "Yeah, unfortunately, I think that I'm going to get the lazy bastard. Then again, he's a slave driver when it comes to training."

 _ **Bloody Redemption**_

 _ **Chinoike Ami**_

 _ **LVL: 8**_

Shikamaru groaned lowly. "Ami, get off of my desk. Why is everyone crowding around me?"

Kiba snickered. "Not everyone." He chuckled as he pointed towards a certain pink haired girl, which Shikamaru looked at.

 _ **Uchiha Fangirl**_

 _ **Haruno Sakura**_

 _ **LVL: 6**_

Shikamaru's gaze became a judging one when he looked at her. "How did she get top kunoichi?"

Ino shrugged. "I let her win and Hinata probably didn't want to hurt her too badly."

Hinata's shy nod was all that was needed to confirm what they were all thinking.

Shikamaru shrugged. "At least none of us have to deal with her. Poor Kasumi though, having to deal with a cold bastard and a banshee."

There was a soft giggle from around them, which everyone looked towards.

A brown haired girl blinked at them, then blushed as she looked away. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop!"

 _ **Nightmares to Reality**_

 _ **Kurama Yakumo**_

 _ **LVL: 14**_

Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly when he saw her level. It was strange that a girl that he had never heard of before. She seemed very frail as well, for her level. Perhaps she had taken the test outside of the academy. ' _If so, then that means that we've all been slacking off.'_

Ino glanced at Shikamaru before smiling at Yakumo. "Hey Yakumo, don't worry about it okay? I'm sure that you would've heard something regardless, seeing as how loud Kiba is."

Kiba growled like a mutt. "I am NOT loud! Right Akamaru?"

Akamaru poked himself out of Kiba's jacket and barked cutely.

 _ **Ninken of Loyalty**_

 _ **Akamaru**_

 _ **LVL: 11**_

Shikamaru looked at Hinata who had taken a few steps away from Yakumo. "Hey, Hinata, what's the matter…?"

Hinata gulped. "I-I don't know what I'm seeing in her… but it looks e-"

Iruka walked into the room. "Alright everyone settle down!" He watched as all of the students shut the hell up. "Good. Okay, I'll just get us started then. Team 1…"

Shikamaru yawned as he closed his eyes and laid his head on his desk, waiting for when the people with higher levels than three would be called. It didn't take long.

"Team Seven will be Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Kasumi."

Sakura cheered loudly, saying something about true love that Shikamaru ignored.

"Your Jounin sensei will be Hatake Kakashi, who...is late. You'll just have to wait for him to show up. Team Eight will be Aburame Shino, Hyūga Hinata, and Kurama Yakumo. With your Jounin sensei as Yūhi Kurenai."

Yakumo gasped happily. "Kurenai-sensei!" She waved at the woman walking into the room happily.

Shikamaru stealthily glanced up at Kurenai, gauging her power. He wasn't disappointed.

 _ **Master of Illusions**_

 _ **Yūhi Kurenai**_

 _ **LVL: ?**_

He watched Shino, Hinata, and Yakumo walk up to their sensei and the four leave while chatting about something. He turned his attention back to Iruka.

"Team nine is still in circulation from last year, so we'll skip them and go straight to team ten. Akimichi Chōji, Yamanaka Ino, and...huh. Inuzuka Kiba. Surprised that they aren't forming the InoShikaCho team again. Oh well, your jounin sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma."

A large, tan man with somewhat spiky hair and a thin beard walked into the room and lit up a cigarette. "Yo. Team ten follow me." He didn't wait for the three other genin to catch up as he left, his three students running after him.

Iruka coughed a small bit at the smoke in his face. "Alright then. And finally, Team eleven, consisting of Nara Shikamaru, Uzumaki Naruto, and Chinoike Ami. Your jounin sensei is...oh no…"

Naruto seemed confused. "Why 'oh no' sensei?"

Shikamaru blinked as he heard a noise encroaching in the distance, then shot up with his eyes wide. "Get to cover!" He shoved Naruto down under a desk while Ami dove under one herself. Dozens of kunai stabbed into where each of the three were standing the moment a shattering sound resonated throughout the room.

"THE GREAT AND SEXY MITARASHI HAS ARRIVED!"

Naruto and Ami both paled considerably. "Nooo!"

Shikamaru groaned as he grabbed two of the kunai and rushed towards Anko with a **[Chakra Dash]** and then began to attack her, the purple haired woman easily dodging out of the way. "Will you stop doing that to them?! They'll die of heart attacks at this rate!"

Anko hummed in thought as she continued to dodge. "Yeah...you're right, it's no fun if it happens all the time!" She tripped Shikamaru with a shit eating grin and then sighed. "Blond Gaki! Girl Gaki! Get down here and help Nerd Gaki!"

Shikamaru groaned as he flipped up to his feet. He was about to start attacking again until he was interrupted by his clones dispelling.

 _ **[Cooking] has gained a level!**_

 _ **Due to your clones hours of effort, you have attained +6 INT and + 10 WIS**_

 _ **[Tactics] has gained four levels!**_

Shika sighed and then put the kunai into his pockets, hence, his Inventory. "Naruto, Ami, let's go. She probably wants to test us or something."

Anko picked Shikamaru up by his pineapple hair, then began to walk out of the classroom. "Let's go kiddies! Mama has shit to do!"

Naruto and Ami reluctantly followed along.

* * *

Kurenai stared at Anko, almost disapprovingly. "Anko, we're supposed to test our students separately, you know that."

Anko chuckled with a grin. "So what? We can still do our tests, I just want to let them know the situation!"

Shikamaru looked at Anko. "And what _is_ the situation, Bitch-sensei?"

Kurenai covered her mouth to keep herself from laughing.

Anko smiled as her eye twitched. "Well, Nerd-gaki, we're going to be training with Team Eight every other day or so, starting today, and tomorrow we'll do a nice little test to see if you guys go back to the Academy or not!"

The six Genin froze at that.

Anko waited for a moment, the feigned surprise. "Oh they...they didn't tell you?"

Naruto glared. "What the hell! They all said that-"

Shikamaru placed a hand over Naruto's mouth. ' _That's why the quest hasn't been completed…'_ "Quiet Naruto. If we say anything to piss her off, she'll just make the test harder for the six of us, and that's not fair to Team Eight. We can take the beatings she restrains herself to, I'm not sure if they can."

Shino nodded at Shikamaru. "We thank you for the consideration of our team Shikamaru." He then looked at Yakumo. "No doubt we are all more...frail, than you three are."

Anko chuckled. "Funny way of saying I'll break your bones."

Kurenai sighed. "Anko, torment your kids, not mine, alright?" She turned to the genin candidates. "You six will be taking a joint test that Anko insisted on for whatever reason. She said something about getting Shino, Hinata, and Yakumo 'ready for blood', or something like that." She looked at Anko. "You better not be planning to hurt them."

Anko shrugged. "Eh, it's up to them if they get hurt."

Hinata glanced at Naruto, blushed heavily, then looked at Kurenai. "S-Sensei, what do we do today…?"

Shikamaru stepped forward. "We prepare for a world of pain. Knowing Anko, she's barely going to hold back and that's because of Kurenai-sensei." He sighed as he looked around. "And from that grin on her face, she will make it nearly impossible on us."

Anko laughed at that. "You're damn right Gaki. And if any of you try to flake out on the test, you all fail."

 _ **!QUEST ALERT!**_

 _ **Delusions of Reptiles**_

 _ **Main Objective: Pass Anko and Kurenai's test**_

 _ **Reward: Genin Rank, completion of 'Branching Paths' quest**_

 _ **Failure: Automatic failure of 'Branching Paths' quest, ?**_

 _ **This Quest must be accepted.**_

 _ **Sometimes you will receive hidden objectives which can lead to much greater rewards, or hidden failures, which could range from nothing at all to an apocalypse. For the sake of self preservation, it is wise to do everything in your power to succeed a quest when a hidden failure is in play.**_

Shikamaru groaned as he shifted his demeanor to a much more focused state. "Okay then. Teams eight and eleven, get over here. You two," He pointed at the jounin. "Go do your plans. We have to prepare." He walked away with Naruto and Ami following without question, with team eight following quickly after.

Kurenai stared at the group as they walked off. "Well….it seems that the leader has made himself known."

Anko nodded. "Yeah. And as much as I hate to say it, but with him in charge, we'll need to step up our game. Fucking Nara and their strategy training."

The moment that Anko and Kurenai were out of hearing range, Shikamaru quickly performed his **Kagemane** and made the group jump to the rooftops, but when he saw Yakumo fail to jump as high as the rest, he dropped his jutsu and helped her up. "Okay you five, listen up." He walked over to Naruto and smacked him on the forehead. "And I do mean listen, not hear me." He looked over everyone, then made a clone. He looked at the clone and then nodded to it as it ran off to go research. "Here's how we're going to do this. We have the day to train and the night to rest, so first thing's first, I need to gauge your abilities and formulate five plans against the two of them." He looked at Hinata. "How good are you with the Jūken?"

Hinata let out a squeak, then poked her fingers together. "N-Not as good as I should be…"

Shikamaru walked up to Hinata and flicked her forehead. "I didn't ask how good you aren't. I asked how good you are." He cracked his neck. "Alright, I'll get to you in a moment." He looked at Yakumo. "I've never seen you around the academy, but apparently everyone else has. Who are you?"

Yakumo gulped, then looked away. "I-My name i-"

"I know your name. Who are you?"

Yakumo took a deep breath, then nodded to herself. "I'm from the Kurama clan. Our bloodline involves devastatingly powerful genjutsu, almost to the point where it can no longer be called genjutsu. It can reflect what the user sees as damage to their body. I can kill with them if need be. B-But it's so much easier if I can paint it…"

Shikamaru nodded. "We'll work on your physical body then and have you paint out various situations tonight. Your genjutsu can cause damage, which means that it can delude the body to a certain extent. You can use that with your allies to bolster them." He then walked over to Shino. "I've never learned the extent of your clan's techniques, except for making the ceramic body armor."

Shino adjusted his glasses. "My kikaichū have the ability to sense and drain chakra from whomever I deem a target and transfer excess amounts of it to whomever I choose. I can use my colony to grasp my surroundings, allowing for maneuvers such as being able to stand upside-down without expending a sliver of chakra. My colony can also remove poisons from my body, create a protective shield, create a clone, and confuse sensors. I am also able to track targets with a singular kikaichū on their person." He cleared his throat. "As an added benefit, they are immune to genjutsu and can sense when I am affected by it, so they will carry out commands until I am incapable of battle."

Shikamaru nodded as he filed all of that away for his plans. "And I'm assuming you have good training with at least the basic academy teachings and your clan techniques." He sighed and then walked back over to Hinata. "Okay. Because you don't know how to say how much you know, you're going to have to show me." He threw a sudden punch at Hinata's face, making the girl step out of the way of it. "So we're going to have a friendly little spar. Don't worry about expending chakra, I can charge you right back up." He signaled his team to go to the edge of the roof. "And I'll try not to hurt you. Taijutsu and chakra enhancement only."

Hinata gulped as she nodded, then stepped into a standard Jūken stance. "I-I'll try not to hospitalize you Shikamaru."

Shikamaru nodded with a chuckle. "Nothing keeps me down for more than a night." He dashed towards Hinata and threw a very projected punch at her, the girl catching it, only for her arm to be immediately pushed back. Obviously he was much stronger than she expected. He then hit Hinata with a sudden kick, sending her across the roof. "You okay? I didn't hit that hard."

Hinata quickly found her feet and then looked up at Shikamaru and paled. He was so much stronger than her.

Naruto growled. "COME ON HINATA! SHOW HIM HOW STRONG YOU ARE!"

Shikamaru smirked. "Dojutsu are allowed."

Hinata's eyes widened at both of those statements. "N-Naruto…" She quickly stood up and nodded as she activated her Byakugan. "V-Very well." She dashed towards Shikamaru and began to strike at him very quickly with seemingly random attacks, but seeing as Shikamaru dodged every one of them instead of deflecting or blocking told her that he knew better, knew what the Jūken did.

Shikamaru chuckled. "Is this all you got? If so, then we have some serious work to do. I'd expect you to have at least the Hakke Jū-roku Shō."

Hinata faltered for a moment before being struck in the stomach by Shikamaru.

"I'll have you know that unlike the rest of the brats at school, I'm not afraid of what happens when I raise a hand against the Hyuuga heir." Shikamaru kicked Hinata away again. "So I'm not holding back, and neither with our senseis. Can you see through genjutsu or am I confusing that with the Sharingan?"

Hinata tumbled across the roof, letting out a yell of pain. She grunted when she hit someone and saw Shikamaru standing above her. "W-Wha-"

Shikamaru stared down. "I was being serious."

Hinata slowly stood up on her own, panting softly. "T-The Byakugan can see chakra. While we'll know if genjutsu is used, without it on, we can still be affected by it… and even then, the Byakugan just makes it easier to resist...the Sharingan is the Dojutsu involving the mind, where we see chakra." Her gaze hardened as she saw Naruto silently cheering for her. She scowled. "You're within my range of divination…"

Shikamaru smirked. "Am I now?"

She nodded as she began to attack. "Hakke Ni-sho!"She hit Shikamaru with two chakra infused strikes at once, then two more immediately after. "Yon-sho!" She then hit Shikamaru with four more well places strikes on his torso, flashes of chakra striking through his body. "Hachi-sho!" Her strikes quickened as she hit Shikamaru eight more times. "Jū-roku sho!" She panted heavily as she jumped back.

Shikamaru panted softly as he held his chest, blood coming out of his mouth. "...Ow." He stood up straight as he wiped the blood from his mouth, then began to regenerate his chakra, even though it was full. He had a hunch that if he forced enough through a single tenketsu point, he could break it.

Hinata gasped as she ran over to Shikamaru. "Don't do that! You could seriously damage your chakra coils!" She quickly unsealed Shika's tenketsu with a worried look on her face. "D-Did I hurt you?"

Shikamaru glanced at his HP.

 _ **HP: 846/1000**_

"Eh, not too badly. It will barely do anything to them, but...I have a plan forming in my head." He walked over to Naruto. "This guy here is a chakra beast."

Naruto grinned in pride.

"And unfortunately, that and his clones are all he's good for until he gets decent training."

Naruto deflated at that.

Shikamaru looked at Shino. "You know where I'm going with this Shino?"

Shino nodded softly. "You wish for me to use my abilities to share chakra in between the six of us, and track our two targets. You want the source of the drain to be Naruto and to share his chakra with the others."

Shikamaru nodded. "Specifically Hinata and I. Us two are going to be the aggressors, to keep them off of you, Ami, and Yakumo. Ami-" He turned to his purple haired teammate. "You and Shino will guard Yakumo to the best of your abilities. Anything goes, that means claws." He pulled Ami's now pristine and sharp claws and handed them to her. "And that means rapid draining of their chakra."

Shino nodded in response.

Shikamaru turned to Yakumo. "You are going to use paintings to cast genjutsu. They have to be detailed I'm assuming, so you're going to paint them tonight, and then use them as a focus for various effects all over the field, specifically in the area Hinata and I are battling. Don't try to protect me, I'm immune to Genjutsu, I'll explain if we survive. Try to keep all detrimental effects off of Hinata, or just paint her hitting her enemies really hard or there being multiple of her. Nothing that can hurt us." When he saw a hesitant nod, he turned back to Naruto. "Naruto, the best thing I have for you is to spam clones and just be a general nuisance to them, keep them moving so that Hinata and I can get in close, I can stun them with my Kagemene for a moment, giving her an opening to seal up their chakra, making it easier for Shino to harvest the chakra from them." He then looked at Hinata. "I need you to be resolute, like you were just a second ago. If you aren't, if you hesitate, then Plan A goes to shit and we move to plan B, where you and Ami trade places, I possess and Ami, you hack and slash."

Ami nodded as she tested her claw swings, seeing if the weight changed.

Shikamaru sighed. "That's Plan B. Plan C….I'm working on that." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Okay…." He set a hand on Hinata and then quickly filled her Chakra to full, sacrificing his own. "These plans are vague so they can survive contact with the enemy. Kurenai can't use her full strength on us, and her best techniques won't work on me, but they will on everyone else, so if I see you guys acting weird, I'll go straight for her. Not even Anko knows I'm immune to mental effects, so that will help." He saw two windows from the clone he made.

 _ **Due to the efforts of your clone, you have gained +2 INT**_

 _ **Due to the efforts of your clone, you have gained the skill [Basic Fūinjutsu]**_

 _ **Basic Fūinjutsu**_ _ **(Passive/Active) LVL: 1 EXP: 0.00% Cost: Variable: The ancient art of Fūinjutsu, creating seals to potentially alter reality, support allies, and tame the elements.**_

 _ **+5% to all damage dealt from Fūinjutsu**_

 _ **+5% effectiveness to all defensive skills from Fūinjutsu**_

 _ **+5% effectiveness to energy manipulation from Fūinjutsu**_

 _ **Recipes known: Storage, Explosive(Basic)**_

Shikamaru nodded to himself. ' _That took much less time than I previously believed...and it seems that if I study the book, I can save it for my clones to learn. That's very helpful, and will save me a lot of time.'_ He sat down in his thinking position and began to regenerate chakra. Once he had enough, he made another clone. "He's going to go and make a few storage seals for you guys, and a lot of basic exploding tags." He then glanced off to his left. "Kurenai-sensei, did you and Bitch-sensei discuss what the test is going to be?"

Kurenai nodded as she appeared in the middle of the genin-to-be, surprising all but Shikamaru. "Yes. We will all meet at training ground eight where we will do what Kakashi calls 'survival training'. The details will be explained tomorrow. Oh, and make sure that you avoid eating until then. We don't want you to vomit during the test." She then poofed away, showing that she was a clone.

Ami cracked her neck as she stretched. "So are we going to do some warm-ups or get straight to it?"

Shikamaru smiled as he stood up, fully charged again. "Let's just get right to it. To training ground one."

* * *

Yakumo yelped as she dodged out of the way of a thorned vine from a Corrupted Dryad. "THIS is your idea of training?!"

Shikamaru nodded as he deflected the dryad's vine towards Shino, who jumped on top of it and dashed towards the main body. "Yeah, it is. We kill in here." ' _I have to be careful though. It appears that whoever is within a meter radius from me will be sucked into the dungeon with me.'_ "Hinata! Sharpen your chakra and cut through the vine!"

Hinata nodded as she activated her Byakugan and molded chakra around her hands. She let out noises of effort before running at the dryad and slashing through the vine that Shino was not running on.

Naruto threw the vine at Shikamaru before creating five clones to attack the dryad. "This is easy now Shika!"

Ami leaped over Naruto and slashed through a wooden claw that was headed directly towards the boy. "Focus Naruto!"

Yakumo watched her teammates practically toy with the monster in front of her. She looked over at Shikamaru who now had the dryad's vine wrapped through the hole of a fūma shuriken. "Shikamaru, is it possible that...I'm just useless?"

Shikamaru shook his head as he kept preparing the weapon modification. "No, you aren't useless Yakumo. You just need to learn how to control your power in a way that isn't through paintings, so we'll work on that while they get a good feel for working together." He walked over to Yakumo. "Try to use a genjutsu on me. It won't affect me, so it'll be fine."

Yakumo gulped, then nodded softly as she closed her eyes and held a hand towards Shikamaru. She painted a picture in her head of Shikamaru becoming a blur in place, then disappearing.

Shikamaru felt the genjutsu wash over him, then smiled. "Hey Naruto!"

Naruto leaped back and then looked around. "Where'd you go Shikamaru?!"

Yakumo gasped as she opened her eyes, the genjutsu dropping immediately. "I-It worked…"

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, but it took to long to cast and you can't sustain it. It's progress in the right direction though." He patted Yakumo's back, then pushed her to the ground as a large vine shot through the area where she was standing. He looked at the source and scowled. "That was rude." He looked at his shuriken and observed it, happy with what it said.

 _ **Fūma Shuriken (Modified)**_

 _ **This giant shuriken has been modified with the vine of a dryad to allow for ranged control.**_

 _ **20-30 slashing damage**_

 _ **25-40 piercing damage**_

 _ **Range (DEX +½ STR)**_

 _ **Durability- 100%**_

 _ **Cord Durability- 100%**_

Shikamaru threw the shuriken as hard as he could at the dryad, making the creature shriek in pain. He tugged on the vine and pulled the weapon back towards him as he ran towards the monster. Shikamaru then threw the shuriken again at an angle so it would wrap around the dryad. When it had thoroughly bound the dryad, he yanked the shuriken back, causing it to spin around and saw through the dryad, making it let out a loud screech as it was bisected. "Well. That's...efficient." He caught the shuriken absently and looked back at the rest of the group, who had finished playing with their prey. "Good. You four have finished. Now we're going to battle the strongest creature of this area, and while I have no doubt in our abilities, we need to be smart. It's not like the treant from the previous area, it's more...vicious, I should say. And it has intelligence. So we need to be smart and not rush in. Naruto."

Naruto looked at Shikamaru like he was just caught stealing a cookie. "W-What?! I would never!" He cleared his throat. "I mean...not...when you're around Shika."

Shikamaru nodded as he looked over at the sleeping Minotaur. "Anko and I scouted this enemy out, and she had to think on the fly because she wasn't prepared. We are more prepared than her, but we are also weaker than she is. Here's the plan…" As he explained the plan to the group, Naruto had an excited grin on his face, Ami looked very determined, Hinata seemed very nervous as usual, Shino was stone faced, and Yakumo was hesitant but willing to go along with it. "Everyone clear on their roles?" When he received nods in reply, he nodded and pointed at the minotaur. "Be careful, as it can regenerate and when wounded badly enough, it will leak this purple fluid that you do not want touching you. GO!"

Naruto leaped into the air with the help of one of his clones, then made hundreds of clones at the ark of his leap. He had one clone throw him into the trees while the rest of the clones rushed the beast. He landed in the tree and then looked at Shino.

Shino calmly walked forward as a black cloud began to form behind him. It was clear that it was his hive, which he sent half of the cloud at the minotaur and wrapped the rest of it around himself, a spiral of kikaichū acting as a shield. It seemed incomplete, however. The half of Shino's hive that went towards the bull-human hybrid latched onto the creature and began to drain its chakra, as all living things had it. He nodded at Yakumo as he kept walking forward, watching as the bull began to cleave its way through the clones Naruto made with its axe, making a large cloud of smoke.

Yakumo nodded back as she closed her eyes and pictured the smoke congealing into a large creature, but it seemed to only take the form of the Kyuubi, which was completely fine by her. She forced the chakra out of her body to cover the entire clearing, making the smoke creature release a loud roar.

Shikamaru saw Hinata flinch, then knew that Yakumo was successful, as he couldn't see or hear the genjutsu. "Hinata, it's just Yakumo, remember that. Just avoid the claws and you'll be fine." He patted her shoulder, then ran into the fading smoke around the arena, seeing the minotaur occasionally get a random claw mark on its body. The distraction worked enough to where it believed it was now battling the Kyuubi. He smirked as he threw his shuriken at the arm of the beast, then waited for it to stab into it, inciting a roar of pain from it. He used **[Chakra Dash]** to not only put some distance between him and the boss monster, but to saw its arm off, which it did. As he caught the shuriken, he saw Hinata rush in to exploit the vulnerability.

Hinata watched her target clutch its bleeding stump and nodded to herself as she silently performed the Hakke Jū-roku Shō with her chakra in the form of blades. Thanks to Shikamaru, she now knew she had a knack for Chakra shaping techniques, so she exploited this ability of hers and sliced apart not the tenketsu of the minotaur, but the nerves that allowed for the use of the leg. As she jumped back she saw Ami rush the now kneeling beast and use it's back to jump higher.

Ami grinned as she held her claws out, then twisted herself in the air as her accent began to slow. While not quite fast enough to cleave through the creature's neck, she knew that she could at least get the other arm. She laughed as her claws sliced through the creature, barely able to sever its second arm before jumping away. ' _Shikamaru was right! With a good plan and a stupid target, these things are trivial!'_

Shikamaru threw his shuriken at the target, then quickly utilized the **[Shuriken Kage Bunshin]** and made eight of those shuriken impale themselves into the minotaur, as the real one wrapped around the creature's head and then stabbed into its throat. "You're done. Naruto!" As he called to his friend, he felt six clones appear next to him as each grasped the vine. All seven of them pulled with all their strength, not wanting to risk anything, the shuriken turning fast enough to look completely circular as it lopped the head off of the minotaur, making Shikamaru have to lean back very quickly to dodge his own weapon, the clones being dispelled from it. He sighed as he watched the minotaur, and saw the information above it was still there. That had to be a-

 _ **K.I. detected ten meters in front of you!**_

"Everyone get back!" Shikamaru watched as purple ooze congealed from the creature, forming into two semi-fluid arms. The monster stood up slowly as its leg healed, with purple ooze bubbling at where its head used to be.

The Essence of Corruption leaked down the monster's body, mutating it even further, making its hide seem to glisten as if it were metal. A rough shape of a bull's head quickly formed to replace the minotaur's lost one and it seemed to test out the body before nodding and looking at Shikamaru. " _ **So you're the one ruining my fun."**_

 _ **Heart of Corruption**_

 _ **?**_

 _ **LVL: 42**_

The head seemed to smile as it looked at its body. " _ **I have to thank you for the body. The creature was fighting me, but now that you've..well, relieved it of its head, I can take control. Rather ingenious plan you had as well, using the girl to create the Kyuubi as a distraction so you could make this one a paraplegic mess.**_ " It then sighed. " _ **Unfortunately this body is already giving out on me, and it limits my capabilities as well. So I will just have to kill all six of you before that can happen."**_ The creature saw a black swarm leaving its body as raised its arm and pointed it at the black haired strategist. " _ **It was fun, but now we must part. I will see all of you in Yomi, and I'll be sure to say hello."**_ It then launched its goopy arm at Shikamaru, smirking when it encased the boy. He then scowled when he saw that nothing was there. " _ **Hmm. Crafty."**_

Shikamaru panted as he appeared next to Hinata. "Okay Hinata, new plan. Kaiten, now."

Hinata flinched at the prospect of that. "B-But I've never done it before!"

Shikamaru nodded. "True, but that doesn't matter, because if you don't do it, we are all going to die. I'll feed you the chakra for it, so don't worry. I just need you to do it while I come up with a plan." He then made a few normal bunshin and had them run to the others, telling them to gather around Hinata. "You got this, or would you rather everyone die?"

Hinata's eyes widened as she shook her head. "N-No! But I ca-"

Shikamaru glared at Hinata. "I don't care right now. Your limitations are nothing to you. You don't have to do it constantly, just until I have enough time to think of a plan, okay?" He noticed everyone gathered around Hinata. "Shino, I need you to constantly feed me Naruto's chakra, got it?" When he received a nod, he began to feel the beetles feeding him energy. "Now Hinata!" He activated his **[Chakra Transfer]** skill and waited.

The creature walked up to the kids and chuckled. " _ **Well now, this is a treat. I can get all six of you at once. Thank you for sparing me the energy."**_ It then shot its arms at the group.

Hinata activated her Byakugan again, then forced chakra through every tenketsu point on her body and past her group. "H-Hakkeshō Kaiten!" She then began to spin on the toes of her feet rapidly, a dome spiraling into existence around the group, but she felt her chakra draining quickly. Or, she would have if Shikamaru hadn't been supplying her with his own chakra.

Shikamaru closed his eyes as he began to regenerate Chakra, trying to think of a solution. He was barely able to keep up with Hinata's rapid use of her chakra with both his own regeneration and Shino supporting him, so it made sense why she couldn't use this on her own yet. He kept thinking, quickly beginning to lose his sense of hearing around him, the near deafening sound of Hinata's chakra deflecting the corruption was all but gone. He began to see a small flame in his mind, along with caged elements, as if these were his chakra natures. He could currently use fire… ' _That's it!'_ His eyes shot open and the world around him came into focus. "Shino, supply Hinata with Naruto's chakra. I have a semblance of a plan."

Ami's eyes widened. "A _semblance_ of a plan?! So you have a hunch! _GREAT!_ Just...don't kill us all, okay?!"

Shino shifted his efforts to supplying Hinata directly with more chakra. "You best hurry. Naruto's reserves are running low."

Shikamaru nodded softly as he stopped his transfer technique. "Sure. Just...give me a second." He performed the signs for **Katon: Endan** , but with quite a few more added onto it, ending with a Dragon seal. It was a huge hail mary, but he needed this to work. He took a deep breath and felt an inferno forming in his lungs, shooting up to his throat, making flames leak from his mouth. He snarled from the pain, then angled himself to where he was facing the direction of the rotating dome. ' _It's still chakra, reflecting what is on the outside. Please...please don't fry us on the inside.'_ He then opened his mouth and a large stream of flames began to shoot into the Kaiten, get caught in it, making flames quickly engulf the barrier.

 _ **Due to current status restrictions, you are unable to learn this skill.**_

He had no clue what it looked like on the outside, but from the snarl of pain he heard from the demon out there, he took it as...effective. "Hinata! On my mark, extend the barrier out as far as you can!" He burned his mouth as he spoke while still creating the flames, his CP ticking down fast. "NOW!"

The flaming barrier shimmered for a moment before seeming to explode outwards, immolating any semblances of vegetation in a twenty meter radius. Hinata let out an exhausted pant as she collapsed.

Naruto quickly picked Hinata up and ran to get her out of the battlefield, witnessing the damage that the combination maneuver did. The area was covered in ash and cinders, and he found a nice green spot to lay Hinata before dashing back to the group, now able to see what kind of damage it did to the demon. Which was...absolutely none.

The demon chuckled as its arms reformed. " _ **Clever attack, but you would have lasted much longer if you would have kept that spinning top up instead of burning everything, even your own energy. Now then, onto our main course."**_

Naruto looked around, seeing Shikamaru exhausted, Yakumo nearly crying, Ami afraid, and even Shino's expression showing worry. He stared at the monster and...got really, really angry. "You… _ **Bastard…"**_

The demon looked at Naruto in confusion, then took a step back when he saw red Chakra swirling around the blonde. " _ **What is that..?!"**_

Shikamaru looked over at Naruto to see him hunched over with red chakra beginning to coat his body. He seemed to be growling. "N-Naruto… You need to…" He glanced up at Naruto's information.

 _ **Vessel of the Kyuubi**_

 _ **Uzumaki Naruto**_

 _ **LVL: 32**_

"...Slaughter him."

Naruto glared at the minotaur thing, then snarled as he got onto all fours and dashed towards the thing, easily tearing through its metallic hide with chakra claws. " _ **I'm going to rip you apart...piece by FUCKING PIECE!"**_ He snarled as his whisker marks began to become actual whiskers, his eyes becoming slitted, and his fingernails becoming claws. He roared as the cloak of chakra formed a singular, bubbly tail shot from it, and he disappeared. A large chunk of flesh was torn out of the minotaur's body, then two, then three as Naruto carved his way to the center of the monster.

The minotaur tried to hit Naruto as he dashed through its body, but the boy seemed to be completely immune to his corruption. " _ **What the hell are you?!"**_ It slammed its fists down, a wave of corruption threatening to engulf everyone else.

Naruto appeared in front of his friends on his hind legs, snarling as his tail quickly grew three times its original size, creating a shield that protected everyone from the demonic corruption. The tail quickly returned to its original size, much more sleek and uniform.

 _ **LVL: 45**_

The blond let out another roar as his cloak grew larger, his claws sharper, and his eyes now glowing. He appeared above the minotaur, grasped it with extended arms of Chakra, then snarled as he pulled it over his head and slammed the vessel into the ground. He dove towards it, letting out a feral growl as he slammed his claws into it, the ground shattering under the force of his strike. He slammed his claw through the minotaur, purple 'blood' being immediately boiled away by the stronger essence. He grasped the creatures heart and destroyed it, then proceeded to flail his claw inside of its body, eliciting a scream from the beast, a very very large hole forming from a bloody mess. He then grasped the edges of the hole and roared as he tore the body in two with his strength alone. He panted heavily as he watched the body and the purple goop it created face quickly, the chakra cloak going away the moment the threat completely faded. The blonde collapsed on the spot, unconscious.

Shikamaru shakily got onto his feet, seeing that Naruto's level and title had returned to normal. "What the hell…" He walked over to Naruto, discreetly grabbed the ryo and a few potions, ignored the loincloth, and draped the blonde over his shoulders. "Okay...let's get out of here...Yakumo...go and...get Hinata…"

Yakumo glanced at Naruto for a moment, before nodded and quickly retrieving the Hyūga heir. She was about to ask how they were going to leave until they just seemed to...fade back into Konoha. "How…?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I have no idea...let's just head over to my compound...it's the closest one there is…" He then glanced at the windows that popped up after the battle.

 _ **You have gained a level! (EXP significantly reduced due to K &%# )**_

 _ **[Tactics] has gained 4 levels!**_

 _ **Due to taking command in a very dire situation, the skill [Leadership] is now available!**_

 _ **Due to generating extensive amounts of Fire Chakra, your Fire Affinity had reached 'low'**_

 _ **Chakra affinities are now available to view on the status screen**_

Shikamaru sighed as he dismissed the windows, then pulled up his status screen to look at it.

 _ **Name: Shikamaru Nara**_

 _ **Title: The Gamer**_

 _ **Job: Ninja**_

 _ **Rank: Student (+ 20% EXP gain to all Academy Skills until they reach Skill LVL 20)**_

 _ **Affiliation: Konoha**_

 _ **LVL: 20 Next LVL: 0.00%**_

 _ **HP: 1000/1000 (Regen: 20 per minute)**_

 _ **CP: 1271/1271 (Regen: 124.64 (30 + 94.64] per minute)**_

 _ **STR: 50**_

 _ **VIT: 40**_

 _ **DEX: 56**_

 _ **INT: 49**_

 _ **WIS: 39**_

 _ **LUK: 14**_

 _ **Skill Points: 35**_

 _ **Ryō:6781**_

 _ **Perks:**_

 _ **Nara Heritage: Allows usage of the Yin Release to manipulate Darkness**_

 _ **Genius: + 50% EXP gain to INT, when focused, answers come much easier**_

 _ **Shogi Journeyman: +25% EXP to WIS when playing Shogi.**_

 _ **Affinities:**_

 _ **Fire- low**_

 _ **Water- minimal**_

 _ **Earth- minimal**_

 _ **Wind- minimal**_

 _ **Lightning- minimal**_

 _ **Yin- low**_

 _ **Yang- none**_

' _My stats are slowly getting where they need to be...at least, to be a genin. I need to slow down and help my team though, hopefully I'll be able to when we become genin and I unlock group capabilities.'_ He sighed as he led the exhausted and soot covered kids to his clan's compound. "...This power...is so...troublesome."

* * *

 **Here we are. I know that not much really got done except for team and character building, but I needed to set the stage. And before you guys complain about Hinata suddenly getting confidence, it was not that. It was pure desperation, same with Shikamaru using an ability that he can't learn yet. Anyways, this will be followed by another stopping period, not because of lack of inspiration, but because I need to put all of my focus into studying for college entrance exams. Bye everyone!**


	6. Explosive Exam

**From one test to another I guess. I have a test next week and I am not looking forward to it. Enjoy you guys. I'm going to get some comfort food.**

* * *

"Speech"

' _Thought'_

" _Telepathy"_

 **"** _ **Demons"**_

 **"Jutsu"**

 **Windows/Skills**

* * *

Yakumo panted as she allowed her brush to fall from her hand and allowed her knees to collapse. "A-Are we prepared yet Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru looked around at his sleeping companions, and then nodded. "Six effects should be enough. You did a great job Yakumo."

Yakumo smiled as she passed out on the floor with the rest of the kids.

Shikamaru sighed as he pulled up his stat sheet and stared at his points. ' _We nearly died...because I wasn't strong enough...I can't just do this on the fly and ruin plans. I have to use these as I'm making my plans… Otherwise, what's the point?'_ He put a single point in STR to raise it above 50 and smiled at the skill he got.

 _ **Your Strength has broken the boundaries of Civilian training and has risen past 50!**_

 _ **You have gained the skill: [Oni's Strength]**_

 _ **Oni's Strength**_ _ **(Active) LVL: 1 EXP: 0.00: Cost: 60 CP per second: The ancient clan of the Oni are all but extinct, but they are remembered for their ferocity in battle, and their overwhelming strength. Humans have simulated this by flooding their muscles with chakra.**_

 _ **When active, STR is increased by 1%**_

 _ **Can spend CP to increase damage of strikes: 10 damage for 1 CP point**_

Shikamaru sighed at that. ' _Like most of my skills, not very useful, but with extreme potential.'_ He then looked at the rest of his stats and contemplated where he should put the rest of his points. He then created a clone to bounce ideas off of. "So...you know why I need you here."

The clone nodded. "Yeah, I do."

Shikamaru looked into the clone's eyes. "I could put the rest in Strength."

The clone nodded. "Sure, but you need to be able to hit them."

"So Dexterity?"

"You could do that, but then there's the problem of having enough energy to use your new speed. Vitality is a very good option."

Shikamaru nodded as he raised his VIT by 11 points.

 _ **Your Vitality has broken the boundaries of Civilian training and has risen past 50!**_

 _ **You have gained the skill: [Chakra Defense]**_

 _ **Chakra Defense**_ _ **(Active) LVL: 1 EXP: 0.00% Cost: 30 CP per second: A moderately simple ability that any ninja can develop, though Iwa nin have perfected. The user pools chakra into their skin, hardening it.**_

 _ **When active, physical damage taken is reduced by 10%**_

 _ **Can reduce more damage if more chakra is directed to the point of impact**_

Shikamaru nodded and then looked at his clone. "What now? I could work on my mental stats, but I could do the same by having more clones do it themselves."

The clone nodded as he closed his eyes in thought. "I say do that, and if you can't raise them to fifty-one, fix that, then put the rest into your Luck. It can't hurt. You should also train your body tonight, test your new limits."

Shikamaru nodded in agreement, then looked at the rest of his friends. "Sorry. I'll help you catch up as soon as I can." He then snuck out of the house as the clone began to do research.

* * *

Shikamaru soon arrived at Training ground nine, having jogged there casually. He needed to see how long he could last in a controlled environment first, then he could te- He leaned out of the way of a katana being thrown in his direction.

"DAMMIT LEE!" A voice yelled out, which was coming closer. "I TOLD YOU NOT T- Oh. You aren't Lee."

Shikamaru turned towards the voice and saw a girl with double buns and a large scroll on her back walking towards him.

 _ **Dragonling of Steel**_

 _ **Tenten**_

 _ **LVL: 31**_

Tenten grabbed the katana from the ground and held it behind her, making it disappear in a puff of smoke. "Sorry about that. My teammate likes to rush up behind me and interrupt my training." She offered her hand. "The name's Tenten."

Shikamaru blinked, then shook Tenten's hand. "Shikamaru...Why are you training so late?"

Tenten chuckled as she pulled her hand away. "This doesn't take much energy. What are you doing out so late?"

Shikamaru sighed. "I'm warming up for my Genin examination while the rest of my team rests up."

Tenten blinked. "Wow, a Nara being a stamina beast. Who knew?" She then looked around. "Don't let Lee find out, because he will try to fight you the moment he does."

Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah, that's kind of the feeling I got from him when he ran past me at full speed yesterday."

Tenten laughed. "What, did he make a cloud of dust?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, but I could see him running off."

Tenten scoffed. "Then you haven't seen him at his full speed. He wears variable weight ankle weights, so unless he takes them off, he won't ever be at his full speed. Hell, he even fights with them on."

Shikamaru paled slightly. If fifty-one physical points was the baseline for ninja, Lee has well surpassed that. "So how long have you been a genin?"

Tenten turned around as she grabbed her scroll, revealing that it was actually two. "About a year." She smirked as she dropped the scrolls down, then performed a number of hand signs. "Sōshōryū!"The scrolls quickly rose and coiled around her as she jumped into the air and began to extract seemingly unlimited weapons, throwing each one at a different target in the area. Soon though, she collapsed on the ground, panting heavily as the scrolls fell to the ground.

Shikamaru walked over to Tenten and patted her on the back, transfering chakra to her as he did. "That was really impressive."

Tenten blinked in surprise when she felt her Chakra reserves refill. "Thanks. You heard what I called it. I like to think that it's an impressive piece of Fūinjutsu, but it's only in its base stages right now, and I can't keep it up for long.

Shikamaru cut the transfer off when it stopped working, happy that he could help and at the fact that he got a level in the skill from his act of kindness. "Well, good luck with that." He walked up to one of the kunai riddled training dummies, then began to test his new strength after removing the weapons. He tested a punch with his basic strength, then his strength with _**[Oni's Strength]**_. There was a slight difference, but it could be enough if he keeps using it. "Hey Tenten, do you mind if we have a quick spar? No weapons though, because if I allow that, then I'll lose by default."

Tenten seemed to consider the proposition. "Let's bet on it. You're friends with the prankster, right?"

Shikamaru nodded, not liking where this was going. "What's in this for you?"

Tenten grinned. "You convince him to do a prank for me if I win. And if you win...what do you want?"

Shikamaru thought for a minute. "I would like for you to help me find a weapon suitable for me. I've gone as far as I can with taijutsu for now, and I'll need an advantage for my test tomorrow."

Tenten shrugged. "Alright, you're on." She walked up to Shikamaru and then shook his hand before leaping across the field. "You ready to get your ass handed to you?"

Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets as he rolled his shoulders. "As long as it's on a golden platter." He secretly activated his **Kagemane** the moment Tenten charged at him. He leapt back as his shadow locked onto hers. "I win."

Tenten growled. "Like hell you ha- I can't move." She suddenly looked down to see her shadow connected to Shikamaru's. "God damn Nara...You said taijutsu only!"

Shikamaru shook his head. "I specifically said that we can't use weapons. I said nothing about jutsu." He dropped the technique, then smirked. "Time to hold up your end of the bargain."

Tenten growled as a vein began to show up on her head. "That wasn't fair."

Shikamaru shrugged. "We're ninja. We don't do _fair_. But, if it makes you feel better, I'll see what I can do regarding the prank. Naruto needs to practice shutting up anyways."

The weapons specialist glared for a little longer, then sighed. "Fine. FINE! I guess you _did_ win, so..I'll help you out." She rolled out one of her scrolls and then placed a hand on it, unsealing a ton of weapons. "Take your pick."

Shikamaru nodded as he looked over the weapons, **Observing** every single one of them, testing out the ones he kinda liked. These included Trench Knives, a Tantō, and a Kusarigama. He smiled at the fact that the Trench Knives had hand guards, the tantō was quick and easy to use, and the Kusarigama had the bonus of range. "Hmm...tough choices… I like them all."

Tenten smirked as she sealed up everything again. "Come on. I'll show you where I get my weapons." She walked inside, chuckling as Shikamaru followed her. "This is Inochi no Onjin, where all the best gear is made, and where I spend my free time." Tenten chuckled softly. "Not that the man I'm learning from would ever admit it." She walked Shikamaru through the forge, then into the front. "Hey, old man, I got a customer for you!"

The man at the counter looked at Tenten with a smile. "Oh, so you finally brought someone other than yourself!" He turned and looked at Shikamaru. "And a Nara at that! Amazing how he is actually getting a weapon and being proactive instead of lazy!"

 _ **Merchant of Death**_

 _ **Arashi Ketsuki**_

 _ **LVL: ?**_

Shikamaru stared at the man for a moment. "You seem familiar...have I seen you somewhere?"

Arashi chuckled to himself. "No you haven't. If you did, you would be dead, and I would have a lot more questions than this one. What can I do for you today?"

Shikamaru sighed as he looked around. "I need to broaden my skill set with a weapon, but I don't have the first idea where to start."

Arashi hopped over the counter and then walked around Shikamaru a few times, letting Shikamaru get a good look at him. His blood red hair reached his neck, complementing his fair toned skin. He wore baggy clothes, but that was likely to hide the fact that he is built to kill, and standing at seventy six centimeters would make that sight intimidating for anyone. "Okay, I think I got it. You look like a scythe user."

Shikamaru blinked. "Seriously? A scythe? Aren't they too bulky for a ninja?"

Arashi walked over to a wal, then placed his hand on it. "The Reaper uses this weapon for a reason. The Shinigami rarely has time to collect souls himself, so he has his Reapers harvest them occasionally, sometimes in the form of man." A storage seal appeared under his hand and he extracted a scythe that was two heads taller than Shikamaru. "Try this out."

Shikamaru caught the heavy weapon and a window appeared over it.

 _ **Chakra Scythe**_

 _ **The weapon of choice for the Shinigami's Reapers, this is one of the most dangerous types of weapons in the world. Handle with care around allies.**_

 _ **Base damage of 200 slashing**_

 _ **Damage is modified by [Scythe Mastery] augment + 10% of DEX**_

 _ **Durability - 100%**_

 _ **REQ - STR 35, DEX 40**_

He smirked as he gave it a few test swings, then received a skill for it.

 _ **Scythe Mastery**_ _**(Passive) LVL: 1 EXP: 0.00%: Only a handful of people in the world have mastered the art of the Reaper. Good luck!**_

 _ **\+ 5% damage when using Scythes**_

 _ **\+ 2% critical hit chance when using Scythes**_

 _ **\- 5% durability loss to all Scythes**_

Shika made a Kage Bunshin, received a window saying that it leveled up, then gave his new weapon a few more test swings. "How much?"

Arashi chuckled as he walked over to the counter. "Well, looks like we found your match really quickly. For that scythe, that'll be a cool twenty k."

Shikamaru pulled the cash out of his pocket and placed it on the counter. He set the scythe on his back, using the leaf concentration method to keep it on in multiple places. The regeneration he had was more than sufficient for it. "Now that we have the weapon, how about armor?" He pulled the twenty sheets of mystic wood he had in his Inventory and set it on the counter. "What can you do with this?"

Arashi blinked, then punched them very hard, two sheets breaking. "Huh. More durable than I thought. I expected all of them to break." He took them and then sighed. "I hate to break it to you kid, but these are only good for fire in a forge. If they have some unique properties, it might get transferred to a spirit reactive metal, but that's all. If you'd like, I can buy these off of you for two hundred ryō each. If they're special, I'll give you more, but until then, I can't risk it for wood."

Shikamaru sighed with a nod. "That's fair… deal." He took four thousand ryō off of the top of the stack he set on the counter. "So what do you have?"

Arashi's grin returned. "Well, that wood you got is durable as hell, but nothing can compare to ninja garb." He walked over to a wall and then slapped his hand on it, making tons of racks of armor appear. "I'm sure that we can find something in your size."

Tenten let out a chuckle. "Once he gets like this, you can't stop him Nara. Best go along with it."

Shikamaru nodded as he walked over to Arashi, who was already sorting through various sets of clothing. This might take a while, so he made another clone, then handed the scythe to the clone, who walked off without another word. All three of him knew the plan, and the last clone back at his compound was too busy with research to bother to care. ' _I really hope that he can find something that isn't very cliche.'_

* * *

Approximately an hour after Shikamaru bought the scythe, he finally had some new gear. It took a while, but he was able to convince Arashi that subtlety is better than defense for now, as he wasn't going to war. However, he was a ninja, and it was foolish to think that assassinations wouldn't be in his future, so he was able to find one that helped with that, and it didn't look too bad either. He was now wearing a half mask that was pitch black, as was the rest of his outfit, but he had dark grey metal vambraces and greaves that blended with his main outfit, along with pauldrons to match. He had a cuirass that was stained black, protecting his upper body, but for his abdomen and lower back, they were seperate pieces of metal as to not sacrifice mobility. On his feet were dark metal boots that were jointed for mobility and highly durable. To top it all off, the entire set had silencing seals engraved on the insides of the pieces of armor, making it more quiet than cloth. It was slightly higher than standard genin gear though, as Arashi couldn't show Shikamaru the best stuff he has for legal reasons.

 _ **Armor of the Assassin(Genin)**_

 _ **The best set of armor available for a Konoha genin focusing on stealth and assassination. Set is compiled and auto equipped when one piece is equipped.**_

 _ **\+ 20% damage resistance (piercing exempt)**_

 _ **\+ 20% [Stealth] effectiveness**_

 _ **Durability 100%**_

 _ **REQ: STR 50**_

Shikamaru chuckled as he quickly adapted to the new weight of the armor. Because he had the needed strength to use it, with a little extra, it wasn't all that heavy. It wasn't weightless, but he could move without any hindrance. "How much for this?"

Arashi smirked. "Ten thousand. Unlike the scythe, what you got there isn't made of chakra metal, but the seal work on it makes it almost as valuable."

Shikamaru sighed, then fished around in his old pockets and grabbed a stack of ten thousand from his Inventory. "I guess saving up from all those D-Rank chores was worth it."

Arashi grabbed the money with a nod. "Trust me kid, you'll thank yourself for doing those missions when you're in battle. I know the whole point of that piece is to avoid combat, but let's face it, you're going to fight. And you know that, otherwise you would have stuck to the kunai for a while longer." He sighed as he sat down after sealing the armor away again. "Anything else you need?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "This should be good. Thank you."

Arashi shook his head as he pointed a stack of twenty-six thousand ryō at Shikamaru. "No, thank _you_." He then bopped Tenten on the head, who was sleeping in his chair. "Hey! Out of my chair!"

Tenten woke up with a soft snort, then looked at both men with a glare. "You two didn't hear that."

Shikamaru bowed to Arashi, then left the shop with a hidden smirk behind his mask as he stored his previous clothes. He walked over to his clones, who were still training with the scythe, then nodded to them as he grabbed the weapon. When the clones dispelled, he chuckled.

 _ **Due to your clones hard work, you have gained nine levels in [Scythe Mastery]!**_

He spun the scythe above his head before sticking it to his back again. He leapt up to the roofs of the buildings, then returned to his compound. He silently sneaked up behind his clone and placed the blade of the scythe against his neck. "Make any progress?"

The clone flinched heavily, then nodded. "You'll get five more points of INT. I think that you might be better off making multiple clones for INT now."

Shikamaru nodded softly. "I agree. Sorry about this, I just need to test this out."

The clone chuckled. "Why are you sorry? You'll just get my memories, including the death." He was then silenced as he was decapitated, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Shikamaru flinched when he got the clones memories, then sighed as he got another window.

 _ **Due to your clones efforts, you have gained +5 INT**_

 _ **Your Intelligence has broken the boundaries of a Civilian and has risen past 50!**_

 _ **You have gained the skill: [Elemental Chakra]**_

 _ **Elemental Chakra**_ _ **(Passive) LVL: N/A: A rare ability which can manifest randomly within ninja. This allows for easier chakra conversion, reducing the cost of elemental jutsu and grants other effects.**_

 _ **All Elemental Jutsu cost is reduced by 25%**_

 _ **Allows for training elemental affinities**_

 _ **Allows for advanced chakra conversion (Affinities must be intermediate or higher to meld)**_

Shikamaru nodded softly, then chuckled softly. "So that's what the affinities are. Must have slept through that lesson. And the review." He sighed as he took the clones seat, making his scythe fall on the ground, waking everyone up. He let out a groan.

Naruto was the first to his feat. "What…? Shika, why are you dressed like that? And why do you have a…..that?"

Shikamaru quickly dumped the remaining twenty three points into his LUK, as planned. "I'm preparing. We need every advantage against Kurenai-sensei and Bitch-sensei. So I got new armor, and I got some new skills." He stood up and looked over everyone as he pulled his facemask down. "Go back to sleep. You guys need it, I don't." He immediately sighed when everyone except Naruto went to sleep. "Okay, if you don't need sleep Naruto, I need your help training."

Naruto grinned as he stretched. "No problem Shika! Let's do this!" He was about to attack Shikamaru, when he froze up. "Kagemane...oh! Not here. Right." He chuckled sheepishly as he was released. "In the field?"

Shikamaru nodded as he grabbed his scythe, then walked out with Naruto. "So, how did you sleep?"

Naruto shrugged. "Not too badly...That's a lie...I dreamt that you guys were killed by that bull thing." He cracked his neck. "So I need the practice. Thanks for this."

Shikamaru nodded as he made a Kage Bunshin, then stood across the field. "I need you to make as many clones as you can and have them attack me. My clone will help you with chakra control stuff, okay?"

Naruto nodded with a grin, then made his fingers into a cross. " **Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!** " Around him hundreds of clones appeared. "Hoo boy...give me a second to get back to full." He felt the clone grab his arm, then drag him to a tree."

Shikamaru smiled as he put his facemask back up, then spun his scythe, stepping into a battle stance. "Come on Naruto's!" When the horde of clones rushed him, he chuckled and began to slice through the clones like they were nothing, mostly because they were clones. Smoke began to cloud Shikamaru's vision, so he closed his eyes and began to swing the blade in random directions, knowing that he would hit at least a clone or two each second. Shikamaru then leapt into the air to see how many were left, then activated **[Oni's Strength]** as he spun in the air, cleaving through more clones. He felt a sixth sense go off in the back of his head, and he held his scythe behind him, blocking a triple strike from three clones. The Nara spun around and cleaved through the clones as recompense, then dashed forward, slashing through the clones as quickly as he could, that sixth sense going off occasionally, allowing him to dodge back attacks. As the slaughter progressed, he got the memories of the clone he made, showing Naruto clutching his head. ' _I'm going too fast.'_

Shikamaru stopped moving and then adopted a defensive stance. "Guys, slow down. The original is getting hurt from this." When he received a sea of nods, the battle changed. Shikamaru was now primarily dodging attacks and only countering strikes a few seconds after he had dispelled the last one. That sixth sense of his slowly grew more and more clear throughout the battle, as if it was telling him where this Naruto was, and how he was going to attack. Dive, duck, slash, leap, spinning slash, stop strengthening block, slide, kick, turn his buff back on, that was the course of the battle, and with the limited pace they were fighting at, the dispelling of the clones took until the sunrise. Some time during the battle, he made another clone to instruct Naruto on the Tree Walking method so the boy wasn't sitting around bored.

The Nara panted heavily as he dispelled the final clone, finally finding something that exhausted him; fighting a horde of Naruto. "Hey, Naruto! Are you alright?"

Naruto nodded from the tree he was standing on. "Yep. Thanks for slowing down on them! And thanks to you, I can look through the clones memories and see where I need to improve! But did you have to be so rough with some of the kills? Those ones felt kinda personal!"

Shika waved Naruto off as he caught his breath. "Trust me, it wasn't." He then looked at the windows that appeared after the battle. ' _Well, maybe just a little.'_

 _ **[Scythe Mastery] has gained three levels!**_

 _ **[Oni's Strength] has gained four levels!**_

 _ **Due to harnessing your instincts, you have gained the skill [Sense Danger]**_

 _ **Sense Danger**_ _**(Passive): LVL:1 EXP: 0.00%: A natural survival instinct. It allows the user to sense any form of danger directed at them. The higher the level progresses, the earlier the user senses it, and can pinpoint the source of the danger more accurately.**_

 _ **Warns the user of danger up to 1 second in advance.**_

 _ **Allows to sense the form of danger from up to 5 ft**_

 _ **[Sense Danger] has gained 4 levels!**_

Shikamaru nodded to himself as he set his scythe on his back. "Stop for now and rest up. We have to be in peak shape for when our senseis test us."

Naruto nodded a bit as he flopped onto the ground. "You got it Shika!"

Shikamaru looked his left and saw the ruins of his clan's explosives shed, then remembered all of the bombs and tags he had in his inventory and chuckled darkly. "I'm going on ahead. You think you can make a clone to help me out?"

Naruto made a clone silently, and then watched his friend and himself leave.

Shikamaru looked at the clone. "How good are you at traps?"

The clone thought for a second. "Are they like pranks?"

Shikamaru sighed. "I mean...yeah. Now that I think about it."

The clone grinned widely. "Then I'm the best at traps!" He then blinked when he saw Shikamaru handing him a bunch of low grade exploding tags, smokescreen tags, fire tags, and blinding tags. "Eh? What are all of these for?"

Shikamaru closed his eyes. "We're going to go set up traps for our senseis."

* * *

Anko appeared at training ground eight at around seven in the morning to see all six genin already there. Naruto and Ami were stretching, Hinata was looking around with her Byakugan for some reason, Yakumo was talking with Shino about something while holding a large square of white cloth in her arms, and Shikamaru was...sleeping. "HEY! NERD-GAKI! GET THE HELL UP!"

Shikamaru pretended to jolt awake, then yawned comically. "Mornin' Bitch-sensei. How'd you sleep?" He then saw Kurenai walk onto the field. "Oh, good morning Kurenai-sensei."

Kurenai smiled. "Good morning Shikamaru." She stopped in her step and looked over him. "Is that new gear I spy?"

Anko looked over Shikamaru as well. "Well well well! Looks like the Nerd-gaki went and prepared. Got a new weapon too! You do realize that you're just going to be a hindrance with that thing, right?"

Shikamaru shrugged as he began to polish his blade. "I don't know, I'd like to think that I'm at least half decent at it." He chuckled as he stood up. "Guys, get in position. Formation 'S'."

Yakumo nodded as she took out something from her covered box and then closed her eyes.

Shino cracked his neck as his hive began to swirl around him and Yakumo.

Ami chuckled as she unsheathed her claws from her hips, then stood back near their supporter.

Hinata stood next to Shikamaru, then smiled when Naruto stood next to her.

Anko sighed. "Fine. You guys get the first move."

Shikamaru chuckled. "You are going to regret that." He spun his scythe with dexterity that shocked Anko and Kurenai, then whistled sharply. He saw smoke quickly rising from the ground around them, then dashed forward into it with Hinata. ' _Formation 'S' for smoke.'_ He heard a bell on Hinata's wrist, telling him that Anko was to his left, so he bent out of the way of a strike from the snake mistress, moving into a backflip, kicking her in the face as he jumped away, a clone of Naruto taking his place, hitting her in the side before he was dispelled.

Hinata could see perfectly using her Byakugan, hearing demonic whispers around her, but because she knew that it was Yakumo, she was easily able to ignore it. She quickly found Anko, using her chakra to silence the bell on her left wrist as she struck at the jounin, then cried out as she was suddenly struck away by Kurenai.

Naruto heard Hinata's cry, then growled lowly as he made ten more clones and rushed the two jounin. Luckily for him, Shikamaru was there to block a back attack from Anko as he began to attack Kurenai with a flurry of punches and kicks, using a heavily modified version of the academy style, almost to the point where it could be called its own style.

Yakumo panted softly as she focused on her genjutsu, keeping it active as she heard the whispers of her nightmares, even though she shouldn't be affected by her own jutsu.

" _ **Betray them Yakumo. You know that they'll only hurt you like your parents did. Kill them."**_

Yakumo shivered as she shook her head, then gasped when she felt something bite her. She opened her eyes and looked at Shino. "S-Sorry, what was that?"

Shino adjusted his glasses as he sent out two of his bugs to keep an eye on the jounin, then stared at the fading smoke. "We need to switch to formation 'F'."

Yakumo nodded as she swapped her painting out for one that had creatures of flame rising from small fires. "Ready."

Shino nodded as he made a hand seal, then flames erupted around the battlefield, allowing Yakumo to cast her genjutsu.

Anko and Kurenai flinched as they looked at the creatures coming closer. Kurenai groaned as she quickly dispatched two of Naruto's clones. "We're in Yakumo's genjutsu. We need to take her out!"

Anko nodded as she looked at the three stationary kids. "On it!" She appeared in front of Yakumo and was about to kick her when she had to dodge the purple haired gaki slashing at her with her claws. "Ugh! Come on!"

Shikamaru nodded at Hinata as he ran at Kurenai with her directly behind him. He subtly activated his Kagemane as he slashed at Kurenai, making her jump back. When she landed, Shikamaru smirked. "Kagemane success."

Kurenai gasped as she saw Hinata jump over Shikamaru and begin to attack her, closing her tenketsu points to the essencial places needed to cast genjutsu. ' _Dammit. Anko, you better take care of them.'_ She sighed when Shikamaru released her. "I'm out. We aren't trying to kill each other, so if you could reopen my tenketsu Hinata?"

Hinata nodded, and was about to do so before Shikamaru stopped her. "Shikamaru-san?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Once we're done." He then looked at Anko, who had just kicked Ami aside. He activated his **[Chakra Dash]** and then kicked her from behind with a quick burst from **[Oni's Strength]**.

Anko stumbled a bit, then turned towards Shikamaru. "Gotta say Gaki, this is good. But not good enough." She Shunshinned behind the kid and smacked him away. "Now then, Illusion-gaki, Bug-gaki, where were we?"

Shino stepped in front of Yakumo. "Formation 'B' Yakumo-san." He saw Shikamaru activate a hand seal and he took his glasses off to reveal blinding tags on his face. When they blinded Anko, he made the beetles protecting his eyes return to the rest of the hive and replaced his glasses and began to attack Anko, able to get a few strikes in before he was smacked away as well.

Anko rubbed her eyes to get rid of her blindness, then saw Yakumo standing in front of her, trembling. "Just hand over the paintings."

Yakumo nodded softly as she tossed the paintings at Anko, then made a ram hand sign. "Katsu!" An explosion came from under Anko, sending her into the air.

Shikamaru tossed a senbon into the air next to Anko, used the Kawarimi on it, then slapped another tag onto her before mimicking Yakumo. "Katsu!" Another explosion propelled Anko towards Naruto.

Naruto jumped up and then smacked Anko in the face with another note, then activated it as he kicked off of her, rolling on the ground. "Shino!"

Anko snarled as she was tagged by Shino and exploded towards Ami. "You've got to be-" She was tagged by Ami and sent painfully towards Hinata. " -SHITTING ME!"

Hinata slid under Anko and quickly tagged Anko with multiple tags. She let the jounin land on her feet before she made the dreaded sign. " **Explosive-Tag Barrage!"**

Anko looked down at her chest, then cursed loudly as she was sent flying from another, more powerful explosion. She hit Kurenai hard, but was merely caught by the fellow Jounin. "Well...that was humiliating." She stood up, then brushed off the ash from her clothes, revealing only minor damage to herself and her clothes. "At least they weren't too strong."

Shikamaru groaned as he made a clone and gave him the modified Fuma Shuriken. "Let's go!" He dashed towards Anko as he saw his weapon fly past him at the torture specialist. The moment she dodged out of the way of the ranged weapon, he began to attack her with his scythe, forcing her to split her attention and keep dodging.

Anko groaned as she dodged both aggressors with ease. ' _Come on, this is child's play! Literally! Give me a fi- Ooo! Squad of blonde gakis! More targets!"_ She quickly deflected the scythe and fuma with her own blades, then dashed towards the squad, slashed through two of them then gasped when one of the Narutos eyes were surrounded with veins.

"You're within range of my divination!"

' _...Walked right into this one.'_ Anko immediately began to dodge the Hyuuga's attempts to hit her tenketsu, then sighed. "Guys, come on. I'm not even trying." She gasped when she felt a chill down her spine.

"Ku ku ku...Anko-chan~ Didn't I tell you that you'd only belong to me?"

Anko's pupils dilated and then she immediately turned around to see a very pale man staring at her. "Orochimaru-teme…!" Her eyes began to quiver in rage.

Shikamaru's eyes widened when he realized that Anko was staring right at him. "Yakumo turn it off!" He switched with his clone and immediately experienced being impaled through the crotch. He now felt bad for the first minotaur he killed.

Anko looked around frantically. "WHERE IS HE?! WHERE'D THAT FUCKER GO?!"

Yakumo made herself known. "I-I'm sorry Mitarashi-sensei...the painting I made was of your worst fear...He wasn't really here…I'm sorry!"

Anko panted heavily. "N-Not here…he isn't here…" She looked at the ground, then took a deep breath. "Shikamaru, how badly did I kill your clone?"

Shikamaru was hiding his crotch behind his scythe blade. "Enough to make me feel bad for something that tried to kill me."

Anko nodded as she sighed. "Okay...this training is over. I say you guys passed. How about you Nai-chan?"

Kurenai nodded. "Yes, they all worked excellently with the resources and time that they had, and their teamwork was very good, if a little...extravagant."

Anko nodded as she rolled her shoulder. "I know. I was juggled by explosions. It was honestly kinda fun."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that, but Shikamaru knew that you were using Chakra to harden your body the moment the tag was on your body." He blinked. "Wait, we passed? WE PASSED! YES!" He hugged the closest person, which happened to be Hinata.

Hinata let out a little squeak, then fainted from Naruto hugging her, a small smile on her face.

Naruto looked down, then began to shake Hinata gently. "Hinata! Guys, something's wrong with her!"

Everyone groaned at that, thinking that Naruto was a dense idiot all at the same time.

* * *

Once Hinata was awake and Kurenai was fully recovered, Anko chuckled. "You know that I was going easy on you brats right? I could have taken you all out without a second thought."

Shikamaru nodded as he stretched. "Yeah, but you are here to test us."

Shino nodded in agreement. "The academy has already tested our capabilities with the bare minimum requirements and has assigned you to us to evaluate us. You can't be evaluating our abilities, so it is another test. What would that be? It would be testing our strategic capabilities and our teamwork. I noticed many occurances where you simply let yourself get hit, the largest example being the multiple explosive tags that we used on you."

Anko nodded. "Yep. I didn't have to get hit by a single one, but we needed to test how well you brats work together, and you guys fulfilled your roles well, and your teamwork was very rough, but that's to be expected from fresh Genin. Congrats. You all passed."

 _ **!QUESTS COMPLETE!**_

 _ **Branching Paths**_

 _ **Main Objective: Help Naruto out of his position in Dead Last**_

 _ **Rewards: Increased Closeness to Naruto, Increased closeness with Hiruzen Sarutobi**_

 _ **Delusions of Reptiles**_

 _ **Main Objective: Pass Anko and Kurenai's test**_

 _ **Reward: Genin Rank, completion of 'Branching Paths' quest**_

 _ **You have gained access to 'Group' settings! With this you can select people whose reputations are above acquaintance level and alter parameters when training!**_

 _ **Naruto: None**_

 _ **Ami: None**_

 _ **Hinata: None**_

 _ **Shino: None**_

 _ **Yakumo: None**_

 _ **Chōji: None**_

 _ **As they do not have the ability as you do, you must assist them on your journey. Don't leave your allies behind.**_

Shikamaru smiled, then sat down. "Guys, I'm going to tell you something really cool. My power evolved."

Shino tilted his head in confusion. "What power would that be Nara-san? Would it have anything to do with that place you took us too last night?"

Shikamaru nodded. "I have a special blood limit… I think. It altered my perception of reality, my body, and my mind to that of a game character. I am immune to genjutsu, I can recover from anything from sleeping, I don't need sleep to survive, and I can quickly learn skills and attributes to improve myself." He smiled. "And now, I can help you guys out as well. Getting Genin rank evolved my ability, and I can now choose what you guys can specialize in during training. For instance, if I wanted Naruto to get better at Chakra control, I would change his setting to that, and it does that, at the cost of him increasing his chakra reserves slower, which...let's be fair, he doesn't need much more right now." He altered Naruto's settings in the group.

 _ **Naruto - + Chakra Control / - MAX CP**_

Naruto grinned happily. "That's amazing Shika! So I can get better control now?!"

Shino shook his head. "Naruto, Shikamaru is saying that you can gain Chakra Control easier than before, but you'll still need to work hard at it." He then looked at Shikamaru. "What options do you have for training?"

Shikamaru shrugged as he opened up Shino's tab and relayed the information.

 _ **+STR/-DEX**_

 _ **+DEX/-STR**_

 _ **+VIT/-INT**_

 _ **+INT/-VIT**_

 _ **+WIS/-LUK**_

 _ **+LUK/-WIS**_

 _ **+MAX CP/- Chakra Control**_

 _ **+Chakra Control/ - MAX CP**_

"Just some general stat training. It's up to your senseis on how you proceed."

Kurenai cleared her throat. "Well...this has been enlightening...Now it makes sense how you were able to improve so easily, Shikamaru. I know for certain that you should give Yakumo the Vitality bonus, even if her Intelligence will suffer for it."

Yakumo smiled. "That just means that I'll have to study twice as hard!"

Shikamaru nodded. "That's not all. My INT depicts my Chakra pool, but obviously that isn't the case for you guys. I can only guess that instead of that, it affects your rate of learning techniques as well as increasing your general knowledge."

Anko sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're such a headache...Fine. Give Ami Max CP, and then we'll alternate that with Control for a bit. Keep the Uzumaki on Control until I say otherwise." She looked at Kurenai. "Anything for your other brats?"

Kurenai nodded softly. "Shika, give Hinata the Dexterity training, as her Strength isn't as important compared to other ninja due to her clan's taijutsu. We'll still work on it occasionally, but you need to improve your speed of attacks and your flexibility. As for Shino…Hm…"

Shino raised his hand. "If I may, Kurenai-sensei, I would suggest giving me Luck training, as I believe that will improve the chances of my kikaichū adapting to certain situations, such as cold weather and poisons."

Shikamaru chuckled. "Then you'll have to train that with Naruto. I swear, it's like someone blessed him with impossible luck. That or he just took it from Tsunade." He sighed as he applied the training, then pulled a deck of cards out and handed them to Shino. "Play poker with Naruto. You _will_ lose, but you might start getting more lucky." He then walked over to Naruto and handed him a ton of leaves. "I want to see at least five of these sticking. If you can get triple that, we'll go get ramen. And no glue."

Naruto chuckled sheepishly at that. He did that only once and Shika remembered it. It was amazing.

Shikamaru looked at Anko. "I have no clue how she's supposed to increase her chakra pool."

Anko sighed. "Unfortunately, through meditation. Boring stuff. It's pretty exhausting though as you're using your physical energy to gradually increase the size of your chakra coils. Do it to fast and you are in excruciating pain, do it to slowly, and nothing happens. You got this gaki."

Ami blushed at the rare praise from Anko, then began to meditate.

Kurenai patted Yakumo on the shoulder. "I want you to run for as long as you can, okay? According to Shikamaru, that should help you. It might even improve your speed."

Shikamaru was dodging Anko's very projected strikes. "That's assuming that doing this makes their bodies somewhat like mine! I don't know how gradual it is!"

Kurenai nodded. "Do it anyways. You'll start to feel better."

Yakumo nodded and began to jog around the training grounds.

Kurenai walked up to Hinata with a smile. "We're going to practice your taijutsu, but I don't want you to be all stiff like the rest of your clan is. Your body isn't built for that, so I want you to make the style a more flexible, flowing technique. It will be difficult, but I'm sure that you can do it!"

Hinata poked her fingers together. "I-I…"

Kurenai smirked internally. "Naruto will be very happy if you can do this."

Hinata's eyes widened for a moment. ' _This will...make him happy?'_ She nodded and then began to perform the basic kata of the Jūken, her movements slowly growing more fluid over the course of a few hours. Half an hour into the training, she honestly felt lighter, in a sense. It was strange to her. "A-Ano...Shikamaru-san…?"

Shikamaru looked at Hinata. He was playing Shogi against himself. "Yes Hinata?"

Hinata looked around. "H-How does it feel when you increase your Dexterity…?"

Shikamaru thought for a moment. "Hm...I suppose...it feels like I'm lighter. I'm able to move faster, bend more without breaking something, able to throw farther due to skill instead of strength...why? Have you been getting that feeling as well?"

Hinata nodded softly. "Y-Yes...it's only f-faint...b-but it's there...d-did I improve…?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Yes you did. You'll get used to the new feeling once you stop training for a few hours. Keep it up Hinata. Naruto is cheering for you. Or, he was until I gagged him with an explosive tag. He was interrupting my game." When he received a shocked gasp, Shikamaru sighed. "Relax, it's the weakest I could make it. It's like throwing a tiny tiny thing of explosive powder on the ground. It'll hurt, but it won't hurt him. He's already been blown up four times from them."

Anko laughed in the distance.

Shikamaru sighed as he dispelled his clone and received a point of WIS from the game. "Regardless, the training you guys do will have to change over time. That's just normal." He walked over to Ami and patted her shoulder. "How're you feeling?"

Ami opened her eyes slowly, then smirked. "I feel...more? I guess? Like I can do more."

Shikamaru nodded softly, then dropped a few leaves onto Ami's lap. "Meditate while keeping those on you. It will help keep your Control up to snuff while you're training your Chakra reserves." He then walked over to Naruto and snatched the glue bottle from him before he could put it on a leaf. "What did I say?"

Naruto chuckled nervously. "Hey, I got the five without glue!"

Shikamaru nodded to himself. "And how long could you do it?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "About...a second. Then they were blown off."

Shikamaru sighed. "Fine. Tree walking is probably a better starting exercise for you, so go ahead and do that instead. Besides, it's more practical at the beginning."

Naruto pumped his fist in the air as he got up and ran over to a tree, then grunted as he was tripped by Anko.

"Pay attention to your surroundings Gaki!" Anko bonked Naruto on the head before tossing him towards the tree like he weighed nothing. "Nerd-gaki, the hell are you doing?"

Shikamaru nudged his head over at Shino to show Anko that he had a clone of him and Naruto playing against Shino, and the blonde was trouncing them. "I'm going to make one to assist with my scythe training when I get the CP for it again." He then stepped out of the way of a kunai thrown by Anko. "I don't bleed. You know that." He then flinched when he felt himself constricted by a bunch of snakes. "...So this is you using your snakes. That's...neat."

Anko nodded as she dispelled the snakes and then picked Shikamaru up by his ankle. "Don't you need to do Chakra Control training as well?" She grinned and then threw Shikamaru at a tree. "GET TO IT!"

Shikamaru groaned as he twisted himself in the air, then landed on the trunk of a tree in a crouch, immediately activating the skill needed to stick there. ' _This is going to be a long...long day.'_

* * *

Shikamaru sighed as he walked into his compound to see his father sitting in front of a Shogi board. "Tou-san. What are you doing up this late?"

Shikaku looked up at Shikamaru, then gestured for him to sit across from him. "You've been straying from the path of the lazy man. I don't mind it, but take some time for yourself occasionally."

Shikamaru nodded as he made a Kage Bunshin and handed it his scythe to let it go train. "Then I'll let my clones do the work. Now, seeing as you're sitting in front of this board, I assume that you want a game?"

Shikaku nodded as he used one of his shadows to make the first move. "This is also a demonstration. We aren't restricted to the Kagemane. With mastery of our affinity, comes more skills. For instance, the Kage–Kubishibari no Jutsu, strangling our opponents, the Kage Nui no Jutsu, and variations of the Kagemane. The one I'm using right now is the Kagezukami no Jutsu, allowing us to move our targets without moving ourselves."

Shikamaru nodded as he felt his _**[Tactics]**_ skill start to work and he quickly made a move to counter Shikaku's as well as set up his next attack. "So you believe that I'm ready for the next stage of shadow manipulation?" He narrowed his eyes as he saw his father easily counter his move.

Shikaku shook his head as he saw Shikamaru make another move that allowed for an opening for him to exploit, however, it was clearly a trap as he would have to use his more powerful troops to take the weaker one, allowing it to be taken. "I'm saying that you're getting close. Inoichi told me about your ability, don't blame him, I insisted. What level is your Kagemane at?"

Shikamaru checked his skill very quickly. "Level fifteen. I have a range of fifteen meters once it leaves a shadow, it quickly drains me, and it's even more draining when I have to use it on multiple targets." He saw his father ignore the bait he set up, then activated his secondary plan, taking one of his pieces, allowing for another opening that was much less obvious.

Shikaku chuckled softly. "That's about the mastery needed from our Chunin members before they learn the Kage-Kubishibari. But I want you to reach a range of twenty meters before you start learning anything else regarding our clans hijutsu." Shikaku took the bait in this instance, making a trap of his own for his son, sacrificing one of his pieces so that he could potentially remove one of Shikamaru's more powerful pieces.

Shikamaru nodded as he was about to touch the piece to take the one that fell into his trap, but he got the distinct feeling that it was needed there for some reason, so instead he advanced one of his weaker pieces forward, ignoring the opening.

 _ **Your WIS has increased by +1!**_

Shikaku chuckled as he looked Shikamaru in the eyes. "You usually always fall for that one son. You're improving. Well done. Let's see how long you can last, and no forfeiting if you see that you'll lose in the future. You need to tough it out for as long as you can."

Shikamaru looked at his father, then smirked as he pulled his face mask up. "You're a clone. You know that I don't need sleep, so you left a clone here so that we can keep going." He stared his 'father' in the eyes as he made he reacted to the clones next move. "Am I right?"

Shikaku chuckled with a nod. "That's right. The real me is asleep right now. So he'll take my place if we're still going when the sun rises." The clone made no more conversation as he played with Shikamaru, noting that his son was gradually getting better as the match continued. So he switched tactics occasionally to keep him on his metaphorical toes.

Hours later, the real Shikaku yawned as he walked into the room. "You're still playing…?"

Shikamaru nodded. "This is our fifth game though." He watched the clone dispel and saw his father take its place.

Shikaku nodded as he took the clone's place, immediately cranking up the heat of the match. "Pretty good, but he's too soft on you. He's been playing passively, and that gets boring."

Shikamaru glared as the pace of the match also increased, the two Nara both glaring into each other's eyes, trying to get some kind of hint as to what the next would do. It became so mentally intensive that the two unconsciously performed a genjutsu where the room darkened and sparks of lightning arced from their foreheads, clashing right above the board. Flames picked up around the two as sounds of war came into being. The board faded and the two generals became separated by a scorched battlefield. Shikamaru assessed his troops, and the enemies and then began to order his battalion as if he were in a real war, which seemed to be exactly what Shikaku was waiting for. The battle raged on for hours, and just when Shikamaru stood over his fallen enemy, his father, he felt a blade stab him from behind. He looked down and then grasped the blade before it was yanked out of him and was swiftly decapitated.

Shikaku chuckled as he stood up. "It was a well fought battle, my son...but you couldn't see every angle...you were hasty." He crouched in front of the fallen corpse, the battlefield quickly fading and the two returned to their spot across the board. "Well done. You were able to perform a genjutsu that only the best of shogi players can use."

Shikamaru blinked. "How did that affect me though? I should be immune to genjutsu."

Shikaku nodded softly. "Normally you would be, if this was not a two person genjutsu. You activated the technique as well, so that's why you were affected." He motioned to the board.

Shikamaru looked at the board and saw that all of the pieces were where they had ordered their troops, with the two Jade Generals in the center and a promoted Laurel Horse behind his own general.

 _ **For training with a Shogi Master, you have gained:**_

 _ **+3 WIS**_

 _ **Five levels in [Tactics]**_

 _ **Perk: Shogi Journeyman has evolved to Shogi Expert**_

 _ **Shogi Expert: +50% EXP to WIS when playing Shogi, can activate the Shogi Battlefield genjutsu**_

 _ **Shogi Battlefield**_ _ **(Active): LVL: MAX: Cost: Variable: The first stages of mastery in the field of Shogi. A genjutsu fueled by the will of the players, allowing viewers to see what the game truly feels like.**_

 _ **Base CP cost is 30 per minute, split between the users depending on their MAX CP and CP Regen.**_

 _ **The more chakra is used in the genjutsu, the more detailed and extravagant the battle will appear.**_

 _ **Can be used in other war games to varying effects**_

Shika sighed softly, then nodded. "It looks like I have improved though, and that's a plus." He stood up and then stretched a bit. "No wonder you enjoy shogi so much. You see it as an actual battle."

Shikaku nodded as he stood up as well. "For us Nara, we settle our disputes through Shogi for this reason. But you initiated the technique. Now that you can perform that, we can really play."

Shikamaru nodded as he saw his scythe enter his Inventory, then felt the clone dispel. He only got a single level in _**[Scythe Mastery]**_ from the hours of practicing. "Tou-san, do you know if there are any scythe users in Konoha? My skill in it is already plateauing. Scrolls would also be acceptable."

Shikaku shook his head. "No, there aren't any other scythe users in our village, but there may be scrolls. I'll look for some." He stood up and then patted Shikamaru's shoulder. "We have a Shogi tournament against Yugakure soon, and while you're good, you aren't ready for it. We'll be meeting at the border, so I won't be around for a few weeks."

Shikamaru nodded again as he stored the shogi set into his inventory. "Is this a mission?"

Shikaku nodded. "Believe it or not, it's actually a diplomatic mission. The tournament is just a cover so that the Daimyos of the two countries can discuss treaties and trade agreements while we distract everyone." He then began to walk out of the room. "Good luck with Anko-san, Shikamaru. You'll need it."

Shikamaru sighed as he walked out of the room as well. ' _Don't I know it...that woman is too troublesome…'_

* * *

 _ **Okay, so quick updates. The first is that I am quitting my current job as a dishwasher because I just can't anymore. And sadly, that means that I won't have a source of income. So, regrettably, I have opened up a Pa tre on. I don't expect anything to come of it, but I am trying for any income. As I have a Twitc h as well that is linked to it, I am also changing my Username to match the rest of my stuff. I will try to improve my profile pic as I get better at art.**_

 _ **Secondly, I will be finished with school very soon, so that will be some more time for me to write. As much as I would like to go to sch….I can't even finish that sentence. But yeah! More time for writing, hopefully. And I will get back into streaming, so that's a big plus for me. Anyways, thank you all for being patient with this chapter, and I will try to update soon. Maybe not this one, but...one of them.**_


	7. Wave Arcyaaay

**So, developments in my life, as things are getting more and more complex, my driving permit is within my grasp, and hopefully I have a new job by the time this is posted. On with**

 **the show.**

* * *

"Speech"

' _Thought'_

" _Telepathy"_

 **"** _ **Demons"**_

 **"Jutsu"**

 **Windows/Skills**

* * *

Shikamaru sighed as he painted a fence. "Anko, why the hell do we have to do this? We should already have enough D-Ranks to go out of the village."

Anko shrugged as she watched her kiddies paint. "Eh. I'll be honest, I'm stalling for time. You jumped too far ahead, so I'm having you work on your skills instead of your stats while the rest of the team catches up." She blinked, as if she remembered something. "By the way, can you see the others stats?"

Shikamaru sighed. "It's been a bit, so I'll see if I can." He then looked at Ami. " **Observe.** "

 _ **Name: Ami**_

 _ **Title: Bloody Redemption**_

 _ **Job: Shinobi**_

 _ **Rank: Genin (+ 20% EXP gain to all Skills when training with your allies)**_

 _ **Affiliation: Hi No Kuni**_

 _ **LVL: 10 EXP: 98.2%**_

 _ **HP: 475/475**_

 _ **CP: 531/531 Regen: 30 CP per hour**_

 _ **STR: 20**_

 _ **VIT: 19**_

 _ **DEX: 31**_

 _ **INT: 25**_

 _ **WIS: 13**_

 _ **LUK: 5**_

 _ **Chakra Control: 71%**_

 _ **[Observe] has gained a level!**_

Shikamaru blinked at the new stat. "Okay, so it says that Ami is fairly balanced with a focus in Dexterity, but she has a stat that I don't have, which is Chakra Control, which is at seventy one percent. I would guess because she does not have a body like mine, she has to train her control separately from her Wisdom."

Anko sighed as she tossed her empty dango stick into a trash can that was across the yard. "Well, there goes that idea. I was thinking that if I just focused on her stats that she would get stronger way faster. She's the one who needs the most help…"

Shikamaru shrugged as he began to paint again. "Just focus on her then. She can probably benefit the most from you teaching her your techniques. I can help Naruto out, take that hot mess off of your shoulders."

"HEY!"

Shika looked at an offended Naruto. "Oh you know it's true." He sighed, then made a clone. "You finish with the painting, I need to go look for a way to enhance my taijutsu." He left before the clone could say anything.

* * *

Shikamaru kept tossing scrolls over his shoulder. "No...no...no...Hell no...Fuck no...What do I have to do to get a good taijutsu style?"

 _ **QUEST ALERT!**_

 _ **Sneaking for Fighting**_

 _ **Main Objective: Sneak into the Chunin Section of the library and find a taijutsu style without getting caught.**_

 _ **OR**_

 _ **Main Objective: Sneak into the Jounin Section of the library and find a taijutsu style without getting caught**_

 _ **Rewards: [Basic Academy Taijutsu] forced evolution, 5000 EXP**_

 _ **Failure: Banned from library without Jounin Sensei**_

 _ **Do you accept this quest?**_

 _ **[Yes/No]**_

' _...Apparently that.'_ Shika sighed and then pressed the Yes button. He then smirked as he made a Kage Bunshin, a skill he was loving, and sent it towards the Jounin Section. ' _Like hell am I going myself. My clone can just dispel once it puts a style in my Inventory.'_

 _-Clone Shikamaru-_

' _Damn original sending me to the dangerous section. I know that it's practical to send me, but it's troublesome and I don't like it.'_ The clone looked around as it crawled on the ceiling, seeing a jounin standing in front of the fence. He closed his eyes and suppressed his chakra as much as he could before flicking a senbon through the bars and substituting himself with it, landing silently on a scroll rack. He crawled down the rack and silently stood on the floor. He sighed internally and looked around. ' _Okay...Taijutsu...taijutsu…Troublesome taijutsu…'_ The clone silently walked through the library, then quickly leapt to the ceiling and clung to it when he heard footsteps behind him.

Asuma sighed as he looked through the wind jutsu quickly, seemingly unaware that there was a clone staring directly at him from above. "Hmm….damn. I know all of these already. I was hoping something new came up."

Kakashi shrugged as he walked up next to Asuma. "What can you do? Maybe you've reached your glass ceiling?"

The clone's eyes widened and then quickly crawled away before silently dropping down a few aisles away from the two jounin.

Asuma sighed with a nod. "I feel like I'm close though…" He glanced up and saw nothing there. "Kakashi, what do you think?"

Kakashi sighed as he uncovered his Sharingan for a moment. "I think that...we're working too hard. It's making us paranoid." He covered his eye back up and then gave Asuma an eye smile. "Come on, let's just relax and get a drink."

Asuma nodded softly as he put a scroll back. "Sure. This whole Genin squad thing is getting annoying though. The two boys are good, but Ino isn't training as much as she should, and isn't eating right."

That was all the clone heard as the two walked away. He sighed silently in relief, thankful that they weren't trying to find him. If they were, then he would be screwed. He then looked around and smirked. ' _Hello, you troublesome things.'_ He silently read through some of them, then slowly turned his head to a scroll that was much thinner than the others. He walked over to it and grasped it. It felt its chakra being pulled into it, then it squirmed out of its grasp and floated in place. ' _What kind of scroll is this? Is this what Fūinjutsu is capable of?'_

The scroll shot off to a random direction, then floated in front of a scroll in the Katon section.

Clone Shika groaned mentally as he pulled his facemask up, then silently jogged over to the scroll. It was floating in front of a scroll labeled **Katon: Shinigami no Honō*.** The clone grabbed that scroll as well, and a window popped up.

 _ **Would you like to learn a technique for the Shinigami no Shokei**?**_

 _ **[Must know base skill]**_

The floating scroll seemed to absorb the scroll, then flew off again, and then returned to the clone after a few minutes, much larger than before. It tapped the clone's hand.

The clone held its hand out and the scroll fell into it.

 _ **You have obtained the skill registry for the branching skill of Shinigami no Shokei!**_

 _ **Would you like to view it?  
[Yes/No]**_

The clone pressed no and stored the scroll into the Inventory. He smirked and then dispelled, leaving no trace that he was there.

 _-Original Shika-_

Shikamaru chuckled to himself as he got the clone's memories, then walked out of the library without another word.

Asuma looked at Shikamaru and smirked. "Should we say anything Kakashi?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Eh, I don't think so. Not to him anyways, and besides, if a chunin couldn't sense a kage bunshin, they shouldn't be guarding the jutsu vault."

Asuma nodded in agreement. "Then we should go tell Sandaime-dono."

Kakashi shook his head again. "No, _you_ can go tell Hiruzen-sama. I have somewhere to be."

Asuma groaned. "And where would that be?"

Kakashi began to walk away casually. "The road of life. I'll see you around." He then Shunshinned away to do...probably perverted things.

* * *

Anko chuckled as she held Shikamaru up by his ankle. "And what were you thinking, sneaking into the jounin section?!"

Shikamaru stared right at her. "I was getting a useful style for my scythe and a better taijutsu style as well."

Anko blinked. "So….no super jutsus that you can't perform?" When she got a no as a response, she dropped Shikamaru on his head. "Well it's all good then! Get to work on learning it Gaki!"

Shikamaru sighed as he pulled the very large scroll out of his bag and the window for a skill registry popped up again. He pushed the yes button and one skill popped up.

 _ **Shinigami no Shokei**_

The boy sighed and then tapped on the skill to learn it, and the world stopped. "...Is my luck just...terrible or something? Because everything happens to me."

" **Believe me boy, not everything happens to you."**

Shikamaru turned around and saw the Shinigami staring into his eyes. "...I'll admit, if I could feel fear, I would need to get several changes of pants."

The Shinigami chuckled deeply, then smirked. " **So you wish to learn** _ **that**_ **style. At least you are using the original instead of Jashin's terrible variant. I spend all this time teaching him, and he just bastardizes it. Made it for torture instead of immediate kills. Gets his followers killed more often than not."**

Shikamaru nodded, then took his scythe off of his back. "So what does this have to do with me?"

The Shinigami gazed into Shikamaru's eyes, then let out a noise of approval. " **Let's make a bargain. I will allow you to learn this style, if you give me a few things."** When he got a nod in return, the god chuckled. " **I require four souls. No need to rush to get them, because you will die as you are. The ones I need are Sasori of the Red Sands; Hidan, Scion of Jashin; Kakuzu, the Earth Grudge Fear; and finally...Orochimaru of the Sannin."**

Shikamaru wrote those four names down and then put a note in his inventory.

 _ **QUEST ALERT!**_

 _ **Immortality is a Bitch**_

 _ **Main Quest 1: Locate and Execute Sasori of the Red Sands**_

 _ **Main Quest 2: Locate and Reap Hidan, Scion of Jashin**_

 _ **Main Quest 3: Locate and Excorcise Kakuzu, Earth Grudge Fear**_

 _ **Main Quest 4: Locate and Exterminate Orochimaru of the Sannin**_

 _ **Rewards: Mastery of the Shinigami no Shokei, 5 levels, 50,000,000**_ _ **ryō(Not including bounties)**_

 _ **Failure: Death, ?**_

 _ **Do you accept this quest?**_

 _ **[Yes/No]**_

' _Like I have a choice.'_ He pressed Yes and then felt a blade in his gut, but there was no pain.

" **Just a simple transference of knowledge. You need the basics before you can learn anything else."**

 _ **[Scythe Mastery] has mutated into [Shinigami no Shokei]!**_

 _ **[Shinigami no Shokei] is reset to level 1, benefits of [Scythe Mastery] remain!**_

 _ **Shinigami no Shokei**_ _**(Passive) LV: 1 EXP: 0.00%: Only a handful of people in the world have mastered the art of the Reaper. Good luck!**_

 _ **\+ 18% damage when using Scythes**_

 _ **\+ 15% critical hit chance when using Scythes**_

 _ **\- 18% durability loss to all Scythes**_

 _ **\- When facing an immortal, x1.5 to all stats**_

Shikamaru blinked and sound rushed back into his ears. The world began to move again. "...What did I just do…?" He fell back onto the ground and sighed as he stared into the sky. "...Made a deal with a god...you're becoming troublesome Shikamaru… get it together." He took a look at the scroll, then gave his scythe to a clone. "Go practice the basic attacks with Naruto. I'm sure he wants a break from Chakra control."

Anko looked down at Shikamaru. "Are you slacking off?"

Shikamaru nodded. "My clone is working on my new scythe style, and you told me to let the others catch up."

Anko nodded. "Oh, by the way, switch the blond to INT training. He's too stupid for his own good and he certainly doesn't need the VIT boost. Also change Ami to Strength training, because she needs to hit hard AND be flexible for the style I got picked out for her."

Shikamaru nodded, then got a popup.

 _ **QUEST FAILED**_

 _ **Sneaking for Fighting**_

 _ **Main Objective: Sneak into the Chunin Section of the library and find a taijutsu style without getting caught**_

 _ **OR**_

 _ **Main Objective: Sneak into the Jounin Section of the library and find a taijutsu style without getting caught**_

 _ **Failure: Banned from library without Jounin Sensei**_

His first failure. He didn't mind it all that much, because he could just Henge to get into the genin section, and he got what he needed from the Jounin area, so that 5000 EXP, while a slight loss, is no big deal. He looked in the sky and had a single thought. ' _Troublesome.'_

* * *

It has been a few weeks since the library incident and Team 11 had grown quickly, specifically Ami and Naruto, as Shikamaru wasn't allowed to work on his stats during training hours. As it turns out, there was a hidden feature to the game where stats and skills are trained faster when under an instructor, even if they have no idea what they are doing! Who knew? Ami's Dex had increased to 46, her Str to 38, and her Vit to 25, bringing her stats closer to Shika, but still not physically equal. Naruto on the other hand, well, he already had a Vit of 63, so it was decided that could be sacrificed for him getting smarter, making his Int raise to a whopping 21 instead of the 10 it was. He could now keep up with the conversations the group was having, even if he still acted oblivious. He also raised his Str to 51 and his Dex to 42, making Anko have him focus on Dex training. A final note about Naruto is that his CP is at 32516 points. Shikamaru was confused until he saw the perk Naruto had.

 _ **Jinchuriki of the Kyūbi: Increases VIT by 4 per level, increases CP by 2500 per level**_

That alone explained how he could have so much stamina and chakra. Moving onto Shikamaru himself, the lazy(ish) Nara had gained two points in WIS from occasionally playing Shogi, and that was all really, for his stats. His skills on the other hand are another story.

 _ **Basic Fūinjutsu**_ _ **(Passive/Active) LVL: 7 EXP: 0.00% Cost: Variable: The ancient art of Fūinjutsu, creating seals to potentially alter reality, support allies, and tame the elements.**_

 _ **+12% to all damage dealt from Fūinjutsu**_

 _ **+12% effectiveness to all defensive skills from Fūinjutsu**_

 _ **+12% effectiveness to energy manipulation from Fūinjutsu**_

 _ **Recipes known: Storage, Explosive(Basic)**_

 _ **Bunshin no Jutsu(Cloning Technique)**_ _ **(Active): LVL: 31 EXP: 1.54% CP Cost: 24: One of the basic three jutsu all ninja should know. Create clones of yourself with Chakra Hand Seals: Ram - Snake - Tiger**_

 _ **Clones are merely illusions**_

 _ **Each additional clone requires 24 more CP**_

 _ **Can control 5 clones**_

 _ **Chakra Dash**_ _ **(Active): LVL: 10 EXP: 0.00%: CP Cost: 190: Your body has adapted to the high speeds of a ninja, as such, you may now boost your own speed.**_

 _ **For 10 seconds, you can multiply your movement speed by a factor of three**_

 _ **Chakra Defense**_ _ **(Active) LVL: 5 EXP: 0.00% Cost: 25 CP per second: A moderately simple ability that any ninja can develop, though Iwa nin have perfected. The user pools chakra into their skin, hardening it.**_

 _ **When active, physical damage taken is reduced by 15%**_

 _ **Can reduce more damage if more chakra is directed to the point of impact**_

 _ **Chakra Regeneration**_ _ **(Passive/Active): LV: 20 EXP: 0.00%: The ability to recover Chakra in battle, and at an increased rate!**_

 _ **Passively increases Chakra Regen by 10% of max Chakra**_

 _ **When actively recovering Chakra, Regen is 20% of max Chakra**_

 _ **5 CP gained for each hour spent actively recovering Chakra**_

 _ **When actively recovering Chakra, the user must be immobile.**_

 _ **Chakra Transfer**_ _**(Active): LV: 6 EXP: 0.00%: CP Cost: Special: To be able to purify chakra to the extent of gifting to an ally is invaluable to a support ninja or leader.**_

 _ **Allows for the transfer of one's chakra to a target of their choosing.**_

 _ **Rate of transfer is dependant on the user**_

 _ **Range: 2 meters**_

 _ **Maximum targets: 2**_

 _ **Cooking**_ _**(Passive): LVL: 12 EXP: 00.04%: The art of the blade is not only for battle. It can be just as deadly in the kitchen.**_

 _ **\+ 22% chance in succeeding in creating food.**_

 _ **\+ 12% quality to cooked food.**_

 _ **Crafting**_ _**(Passive): LVL: 10 EXP: 4.87%: The action of creating something from something else.**_

 _ **10% increase to chances of creating something through crafting materials**_

 _ **Difficulty increases as the complexity of the crafted item increases.**_

 _ **Dagger Mastery**_ _**(Passive): LVL: 20: EXP: 24.31%: Most do not possess the natural Dexterity or grace to master the art of daggers. Most.**_

 _ **\+ 25% damage when Dagger type weapons are equipped**_

 _ **\+ 20% Crit Chance when Dagger type weapons are equipped**_

 _ **\- 30% durability loss to all Dagger type weapons**_

 _ **Detect Intent**_ _**(Active/Passive): LVL: 15 EXP: 0.00%: Cost: 8 CP per second: Everyone emits some form of intent. Some are able to detect it.**_

 _ **When subjected to intense feelings of Intent, you will be given the general direction of its origin, and the distance to the origin**_

 _ **When expending CP, you will receive more specific directions to the source of intent.**_

 _ **Henge no Jutsu(Transformation Technique)**_ _ **(Active): LVL: 25 EXP: 0.45% CP Cost: 18 per minute: One of the basic three jutsu all ninja should know. Disguise yourself as someone or something else! Hand Seals: Dog - Boar - Ram**_

 _ **Disguise only works on physical vision**_

 _ **One strike and the illusion is dispelled**_

 _ **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu(Shadow Clone Technique)**_ _ **(Active): LVL: 20 EXP: 1.54% CP Cost: Special: A Jonin level technique capable of evolving into a kinjutsu due to the various side effects of cloning.**_

 _ **Hand Seals: Clone Seal OR Tiger OR Horse**_

 _ **Minimum cost per clone- 500 CP**_

 _ **Silent summoning- +2000 CP per clone**_

 _ **Clones are solid, but dispel if 1HP is lost**_

 _ **Memories from the clone are transferred to the original.**_

 _ **Kagemane no Jutsu(Shadow Imitation Technique)**_ _ **(Active): LVL: 20 EXP: 78.42% CP Cost: Special: The first secret technique of the Nara clan. Hand seals: Rat**_

 _ **Can extend up to 20 meters**_

 _ **Base cost 15 CP per second**_

 _ **Additional 30 CP per possession**_

 _ **Katon: Endan**_ _ **(Active) LVL: 10 EXP: 0.00% Cost: 290 CP: This skill is the basics of any fire nature user, the chakra inside of the users body is converted into flames and expelled through the mouth. The toad variant involves creating oil in the mouth, though this is extremely difficult to master.**_

 _ **Hand seals: Snake -Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger**_

 _ **Deals 60 fire damage**_

 _ **5% chance of [Burning] status effect**_

 _ **Charge time- 1.5 seconds**_

 _ **Kawarimi no Jutsu(Body Replacement Technique)**_ _ **(Active): LVL: 32 EXP: 30..03% CP Cost: 17: One of the basic three jutsu all ninja should know. Replace yourself with an object of your choosing. Praise the log. Hand Seals: Tiger - Boar - Ox - Dog - Snake**_

 _ **Replace yourself with an object within a 15 meter diameter.**_

 _ **Triple the CP cost to replace yourself with a random log. (Konoha Specific Variant)**_

 _ **Leaf Concentration**_ _ **(Passive/Active): LVL: 40 EXP: 0.00% CP Cost: 14 per minute: The very first Chakra Control method created in Hi no Kuni. The closer to mastery this skill becomes, the less Chakra is wasted in all Chakra based skills**_

 _ **40 leaves can be held in place**_

 _ **-3.2% CP cost to all Chakra based Techniques**_

 _ **Observe**_ _**(Passive/Active): LV: 7 EXP 4.01%**_

 _ **The ability to look past the surface of an object. This skill allows the user to see ally and enemy status pages, and quite possibly discern true intentions.**_

 _ **Grants information of the target to the user. (Base Stats, Job, Ally Affiliation,**_

 _ **Passively allows the user to view Names, Titles, and Levels**_

 _ **Can view information of targets 17 levels higher than oneself.**_

 _ **Oni's Strength**_ _ **(Active) LVL: 11 EXP: 0.00: Cost: 50 CP per second: The ancient clan of the Oni are all but extinct, but they are remembered for their ferocity in battle, and their overwhelming strength. Humans have simulated this by flooding their muscles with chakra.**_

 _ **When active, STR is increased by 11%**_

 _ **Can spend CP to increase damage of strikes: 10 damage for 1 CP point**_

 _ **Physical Endurance**_ _**(Passive): LVL: 32 EXP: 0.00%: Life is pain. The more you experience,**_

 _ **the more you can take.**_

 _ **-Physical damage reduced by 35%**_

 _ **Poison Resistance**_ _ **(Passive): LVL: 41 EXP: 0.00%: Assassins are everywhere! Negate one of many methods used by them.**_

 _ **Lowers effectiveness of poisons by 42%**_

 _ **Project Intent**_ _ **(Active): LVL: 6 EXP: 0.00% Cost: 394 CP per second: Force your will onto others, make them bend to your resolve!**_

 _ **Will incapacitated targets with [Resist Intent] level 0**_

 _ **Will affect targets up to [Resist Intent] level 21 with varying results.**_

 _ **Can be used to train ally [Resist Intent] Up to level 6**_

 _ **Current Intents learned: Killing**_

 _ **Resist Intent**_ _ **(Passive): LVL: 38 EXP: 0.00%: Resist the will of others and carve your own path!**_

 _ **Increases resistance against all intent by 48%**_

 _ **Shinigami no Shokei**_ _**(Passive) LV: 15 EXP: 0.00%: Only a handful of people in the world have mastered the art of the Reaper. Good luck!**_

 _ **\+ 19% damage when using Scythes**_

 _ **\+ 16% critical hit chance when using Scythes**_

 _ **\- 19% durability loss to all Scythes**_

 _ **\- When facing an immortal, x1.5to all stats**_

 _ **Sense Danger**_ _**(Passive): LVL: 29 EXP: 0.00%: A natural survival instinct. It allows the user to sense any form of danger directed at them. The higher the level progresses, the earlier the user senses it, and can pinpoint the source of the danger more accurately.**_

 _ **Warns the user of danger up to 5 second in advance.**_

 _ **Allows to sense the form of danger from up to 5 meters**_

 _ **Stealth**_ _**(Passive/Active): LVL: 16 EXP: 0.00%: Cost: N/A THE basic skill that all Shinobi have, though only few have mastered.**_

 _ **\- 16% chance of being detected while in Stealth**_

 _ **\+ 8% noise reduction to movements while in Stealth**_

 _ **\+ 4% noise reduction to breathing while in Stealth**_

 _ **\- 2% chance of being detected by a sensor while in Stealth**_

 _ **Shuriken Kage Bunshin**_ _ **(Active): LVL: 7 EXP: 0.00% Cost: 793 CP: The Shuriken Shadow Clone technique creates physical clones of a single projectile.  
\- Hand Seals: Ox → Dog → Dragon → Rat → Dog → Boar → Snake → Tiger**_

 _ **Can create 14 hard copies of an object.**_

 _ **Cloned objects will be dispelled at will or in 8 minutes.**_

 _ **Tactics**_ _ **(Passive): LVL: 41 EXP: 0.00%: The art of strategic placement applies to everything. In some cases, even women.**_

 _ **When focused in this mindset, all strategic decisions come 41% faster.**_

 _ **Affected by INT and WIS**_

 _ **(Locked until [Leadership] is learned)**_

 _ **Taunt**_ _ **(Active): LVL: 4 EXP: 0.00%: You know what this does.**_

 _ **14% chance of an enemy shifting its attention on the user when used.**_

 _ **Inflicts target with the status effect [Rage] when successful.**_

 _ **Chance of [Rage] increases with each level or type of taunt.**_

 _ **Tree Walking**_ _ **(Active) LVL: 17 EXP: 0.00% Cost: 47 CP per minute: The second Chakra Control method created in Hi no Kuni. The closer to mastery this skill becomes, the less Chakra is wasted in all Chakra based skills.**_

 _ **Allows for walking on all solid surfaces**_

 _ **-4% CP cost to all Chakra based skills.**_

Due to the sadistic nature of Anko, a lot of pain and poison was involved. And unfortunately for him, they had to do D-Rank missions on top of this, which meant no Kage Bunshin. In fact, the team was currently doing the most difficult D-Rank in all of Konoha.

"Lilac, reporting in. Still no sign of the target."

"Goldenrod here, no sign of Tora here 'ttebayo."

Shikamaru looked and saw a cat with a bow on its left ear. "This is Onyx, target confirmed, engaging now." He leapt down in front of Tora and smiled at the cat. "Hey there." He pulled a fresh fish out of his inventory. "Is our deal still intact?"

Tora meowed at Shikamaru, then took the fish from his hands and ate it quickly before hopping into his arms.

Shikamaru smiled at the cat and pet it, chuckling at the purrs he got. "Team Hebi, target is secure, rendezvous at the Hokage tower." He turned off his transceiver, then looked at Tora again. "You know, I don't know why everyone calls you a hellcat."

 _ **Feline Fellowship**_

 _ **Tora**_

 _ **LVL: 3**_

He got a yawn in response as he made his way to the tower. The first time they received the mission to recover Tora, it was a clusterfuck until Shika got to the cat. He had the idea to actually speak to it and offer it a deal instead of taking it prisoner. It has worked like a charm and since then they have been given this mission at least once a day. It took about fifteen minutes to complete now that the team knew Tora's route, but what was curious is the title of the cat. It's as if the cat itself is a test of teamwork for the fresh genin, and Tora knows this. "Tell me Tora, did Sarutobi put you up to this?"

Tora meowed in response.

Shikamaru nodded. "It's a test for genin, is it not?" He got another meow. "Wonderful. So the whole...you being loved to death by the daimyo's wife is an act...right?" A hiss. "...Well...I have an idea to keep you free, but you have to trust me." He made a Kage bunshin and watched as he transformed into a bloody carcass of Tora. "Okay, this is the deal. I'll speak to the Hokage about keeping you as a teamwork exercise, but now the Nara clan houses you, and you return there every time the mission is cleared. Do you think that you can go there now?" He got a meow, and Tora leapt out of his arms and towards his compound. Shika smirked and then picked up his Kage Bunshin. "You're a lot heavier than you look."

"Bite me." The voice of the Bunshin was much deeper than before.

"Why is your voice deeper?"

"It feels right."

Shikamaru sighed and then turned his transceiver on again. "Team Hebi, bad news. Tora got away, and I found them dead in an alley."

Anko groaned loudly over the speaker. "Damn it. Stay there, I'm headed to your location now." A few minutes later, she landed on the ground in front of Shika. "Okay, where's the dead cat?"

Shikamaru held up the 'cat' and watched Anko inspect it.

"Huh. Not bad for a Henge. The Daimyo's wife will certainly be fooled. I'm just glad that old monkey agreed to this before you got any ideas brat." Anko grabbed the carcass and then smirked. "Good job Gaki."

 _ **!QUEST COMPLETE!**_

 _ **Rescue Tora!**_

 _ **Main Objective: Rescue Tora from their torture.**_

 _ **Reward: Increased closeness to Matatabi, 1000 EXP**_

Shikamaru nodded and then watched Anko disappear. He sighed as he made his way towards the tower again. ' _This next meeting will be so damn troublesome.'_

* * *

After a whole hour of the daimyo's wife crying over the corpse of 'Tora', the office was quiet, and the five visible shinobi sighed in relief.

Sarutobi took a long drag from his pipe, then released the smoke in a sigh, the whitened air forming a leaf. "Good work Team 11. Now then, there are a few more D-Ranks available, such as painting fences-"

' _Too troublesome…'_

"- Grocery shopping-"

Anko rolled her eyes. ' _Come on old man! Give us something worth our time already!'_

"-and dog sitting, just to name a few of the jobs we still have."

Naruto was about to yell out something very loudly when he was forced to the ground on his back, all three of his teammates, covering his mouth with their hands and glaring at him.

Shikamaru sighed as he stood up and wiped his hand on his pants. "With all due respect Hokage-sama, I feel like we are ready for the next step up. We already have the minimum D-Ranks under our belt if you count the ones we did during the academy."

Hiruzen took another puff of his pipe. "Well...that is a valid point you make there Shikamaru, but it's up to your sensei if you three are ready."

Anko shot up and smirked at the Hokage. "Of course they are, old man. They're my team, and I don't train a bunch of pansies. Hell, Shikamaru has already killed four people."

Sarutobi nodded as he set the overflowing D-Rank folder aside for a much more manageable sized folder labeled 'C'. "Very well, but I will be giving you one with relatively low risks involved. It's simply to protect a bridge builder named Tazuna to Nami no Kuni while he completes his bridge. Be warned, he's a bit...rude." He made a motion to bring someone in.

An older man stumbled into the room, making the entire office smell of sake. "W-What? I assshk for ninja...and I get bratttzzs?"

Shikamaru looked at Tazuna, then at Sarutobi. "...You are completely serious, aren't you?"

Hiruzen chuckled. "You wished for a C-Rank."

Anko smirked. "Let's take what we can get Gaki! This will be your first time out of the village, so be prepared. Pack for about...let's say two months, maybe three."

Shikamaru nodded as he leapt out an open window and began to gather supplies. He heard his transceiver crackle a bit. "Yeah yeah, meet at the South gate in an hour. I'll get some 'drinks' for everyone." He soon arrived at his compound and entered his room. He summoned two shadow clones of himself and saw them staring at him. "Huh. Usually you guys just do what you need to do."

Clone one nodded. "Yeah, but you've never summoned two of us at the same time."

Shikamaru nodded. "Left, make some storage tags for Naruto and Ami, and Right, start making healing potions with what materials we got." He then looked at the left clone again. "Once you're done, start researching on how to get our hands on some kind of healing seal. That would be great."

The first clone nodded and quickly made two storage seals and placed them in their inventory, then began to quickly do research.

Shikamaru looked at the clones. "Okay, I have to go look at something, you know what to do." He quickly ran to his clan's vault and placed his hand on the door, forcing chakra into it. As far as he knew, only them and the Hyūga have such security, and in both cases were due to paranoia. But only the Nara have seals that block any spying jutsu, including dojutsu. The doors to the vault swung open and he walked over to the section that involved the kagemane and stood on two looked at a ninja of the clan staring at him.

"Show your progress of our jutsu, clan heir."

Shikamaru nodded as he flipped through the hand signs of the Kagemane very quickly, then possessed the shadow of the other Nara. He then turned to the right to see an empty shelf and walked towards it. He placed his hand into the empty slot labeled ' _Kage-Kubishibari'_ and grasped nothing. He looked back at the clan member and saw he was pulling out the required scroll for him, and they were now approximately twenty meters apart. Shikamaru walked back towards his starting point, then made the ninja toss him the scroll, making him drop the jutsu to catch the scroll.

 _ **You have found the skill scroll for the skill [Kage-Kubishibari]!**_

 _ **Would you like to learn this skill?**_

 _ **[Yes/No]**_

Shika smiled at the scroll, then at the ninja and walked off. He discreetly pressed 'Yes' once he was alone and felt the shadows of knowledge enter his being. Still felt weird.

 _ **You have learned the skill [Kage-Kubishibari]!**_

 _ **Kage-Kubishibari**_ _ **(Active): LVL:1 EXP: 0.00% Cost: Special: A more advanced variation of the Kagemane, the Kage-Kubishibari, unlike its predecessor, is lethal in nature but can be used non-lethally. Primarily used for quickly assassinating targets via strangulation**_

 _ **Hand seals: Dragon - Tiger - Rat**_

 _ **Can extend up to 1 meter**_

 _ **Base Cost: 150 CP per second**_

 _ **Time till death of target varies.**_

The Nara boy nodded at the information, then walked out of the compound to the south gate. He had time to wait.

* * *

Anko yawned as she walked up to her genin. "Oh good. Everyone is here early." She looked around. "Except...for the client." She sighed and then cracked her neck a bit, letting out a groan. "Okay, you guys got everything you need?" When she got three nods, she stared at the large backpack that Naruto and Ami were wearing. "...Nerd Gaki, give

them storage scrolls."

Shikamaru sighed as he pulled two larger scrolls out of his Inventory and tossed them at his team. "Troublesome…"

Ami stared at the scroll for a moment. "So...how do I use th- Oh! Right! Nevermind, I remember!" She quickly sealed her bag and placed the much lighter scroll on her back instead. She looked at Naruto fumbling about with the scroll and sighed before helping him. "Just lay it flat, place what you want to seal on it, and channel a bit of chakra into it."

Naruto rubbed his head with a nod, then sealed his stuff up as well. He looked at Anko and then at the slowly approaching Tazuna. "So...are we going to fight any bandits?"

Anko shrugged. "Maybe. Who knows, who cares? Our job is to get the mission done." She began to eat a stick of dango that she procured from somewhere.

Shikamaru looked at that dango stick curiously. "Do you have a storage seal attached to the sleeve of your jacket or something?" He then looked at Tazuna. "Team Hebi is on time to escort you toNami no Kuni. Do you confirm that this is all the mission entails?"

Tazuna looked at Shikamaru, then nodded. "Yes. That's all this mission is, a protection job." He looked nervous at the fact Shikamaru asked him that question.

Shikamaru nodded to himself as he checked the quest that just appeared.

 _ **Kowareta Nami**_

 _ **Main Objective: Protect Tazuna and his bridge from all threats**_

 _ **Hidden Objective**_

 _ **Hidden Objective**_

 _ **Hidden Objective**_

 _ **Hidden Objective**_

 _ **Rewards: 20000 EXP, 50000 Ry**_ _ **ō**_ _ **, Hidden Rewards x4**_

 _ **Failure: Tazuna's Death, Bridge not built, Hidden Consequence**_

 _ **This mission is unable to be rejected.**_

"Interesting…" He then pulled his team aside. "Prepare for heavy combat. Four hidden objectives on my quest, so we can assume that this is going to be very difficult." When he saw even Anko's posture stiffen up, he knew that they were going to be ready to kill.

Anko nodded to herself. "Alright. Let's go team!" Her voice was upbeat, but her face was very stern. It wasn't like Tazuna could see it. "Civilian pace because of Tazuna. Onyx, you take the front, Lilac and Goldenrod take the sides, and I'll take the rear."

Shikamaru adjusted his facemask and nodded as they began their walk to Nami no Kuni.

* * *

Shikamaru subtly used a Kagemane on Naruto and looked at him as he wrote a note, which Naruto copied. It was a strategy that they made up for situations where they couldn't talk. 'Act like you're really bored. Make some noise.'

Naruto nodded at the note, then groaned really loudly. "How long until we're there?!" He glanced at the note and saw two new things. 'LVL: 31; LVL: 34'

Ami was about to curse at Naruto, then saw he was writing a note. "Naruto, we will get there when we get there. So shut up already!"

Anko looked at the note Naruto was making, then chuckled as Ami snatched it out of his hands. "Hey, play nice you two!"

Shikamaru dropped the jutsu and groaned as he shook his head. "Troublesome. You two need to learn how to be silent, you understand? We are shinobi on a mission, we have to be professional."

Anko looked at the note, then nodded to herself as she tore it apart. "Nothing to be concerned about, but you should know that you aren't allowed to draw while on a mission Gaki!" She slapped Naruto upside the head. "Haven't I told you this enough?! I can easily break my foot off in your ass, tear it out through your stomach, and get a medic nin to sew it back on just so I can do it all over aga-" She was interrupted by chains wrapping around her and chopping her to bits.

Ami and Naruto both dashed towards the source of the chains and began to attack one of the targets.

Shikamaru replaced himself with a falling leaf above one of the targets and dropped down silently before swiftly decapitating him, an impassive look on his face as the blood splashed onto it. He let the corpse fall before looking at the remaining target.

 _ **Demon Brother**_

 _ **Meizu**_

 _ **LVL: 34**_

He nodded to himself and then sealed the head up for the bounty before looking at Tazuna for a moment. "Care to explain yourself?"

Naruto leapt over his target and created three clones to distract him as he produced kunai from his pouches.

Ami backflipped out of the way of the chains of her target, scratching him with her claws a bit. She knew she wasn't strong enough for most opponents, so she decided to utilize poisons. On her weapons were a paralytic poison that Anko so happily provided.

Naruto substituted himself with one of his clones and stabbed the man in the arm, eliciting a scream from him. His kunai were coated with the same toxin, which is why he did not use the Kage Kunai jutsu. He wasn't sure if the poison would also be copied.

Tazuna's face was pale as the young, bloodstained shinobi walked up to him. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

Anko appeared behind Tazuna and placed a blade against his throat. "Now now Tazuna, we're shinobi. We always know when someone is lying to us. So…" She tapped the sharp edge of the blade against his throat. "Spill your guts, or I'll do it for ya."

Tazuna was shivering heavily. "A-Alright! I'll tell you! Please don't kill me!" When he was dropped, he panted heavily. "I-I lied on the mission description! There's this man, Gatō, he is intentionally sabotaging the construction of the bridge with shinobi and mercenaries. Nami doesn't have the money to afford anything higher than a C-Rank mission, and the bridge is our only hope to save our country!"

Naruto smiled as the target locked up. "Anko, this one's alive for you."

Anko nodded and then looked at Shikamaru. "You know, we should just head back. He lied on the mission, this is at least B-Rank, and he can be executed for this."

Shikamaru nodded. "Yes. We should go back…" He cleaned the blood off of his scythe. "However, we already made the trip out here. It would be too troublesome to turn back now." Which was code for 'Horrible shit could happen if we do this thing.'

Anko groaned quietly as she walked over to the stiffened shinobi. "Let's see what I can get out of the stiff first...and he's one of the Demon Brothers. Meizu. You must've decapitated Gōzu, nice job on getting the drop on him."

Ami walked back to Shikamaru and whispered into his ear. "What're we going to do?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Ultimately, it's up to Hebi, but I suggested that we consider continuing with the mission on account that stopping would be troublesome."

Ami groaned, not unlike Anko did, then sighed. "Great...One of those kinds of situations...I'm glad that you gave us a full description of your abilities, otherwise we'd be stumbling about in the dark."

Naruto ran over to his fellow Genin. "So, how was that Sh-...Onyx?"

Shikamaru pretended to think. "Well...I would say that your reflexes and flexibility need a lot of work, seeing as your clones were quickly killed by an attack aimed at Lilac." He changed Naruto's setting to +DEX/-STR as he spoke. "You also need to expand your jutsu arsenal. The only thing you need to worry about are things that require control, so I would say you need some wind or fire jutsu after this. I'll try to teach you Endan, and you'll have to ask Hebi about a wind technique you can use to boost it."

Ami smirked. "What about me? Don't you think that I did good as well, Onyx?"

Shikamaru sighed as he nodded. "Yes, but you still need to get faster. Despite that being your focus, it still isn't good enough. You're light on your feet which makes you good for stealth executions, so look into getting one of the things that I'm wearing. It boosts my stealth effectiveness by using silencing seals, so it should have about the same effect with you."

Naruto had a moment of realization. "THAT'S why you take the mask off when you talk!"

Anko sighed wistfully as she walked back to the group, covered in blood and with a storage scroll. "That was fun. I just wish I had my tools." She tossed Shikamaru the scroll and smiled when he put it in his Inventory. "So, what I got outta that pussy was that he and his brother were hired to kill Tazuna, along with an A-Rank nuke-nin, Momochi Zabuza, and his assistant, who can use the Hyōton. Be on your guard, because if you see a sudden fog roll in, it's likely we're going to be attacked."

Tazuna let out a shivering breath. "D-Does that mean that you'll still take the mission?"

Anko nodded as she wrote something down, then drew blood from her thumb and slammed her hands onto the ground, making a hawk appear and a puff of smoke. She tied the note to the hawk and whispered something to it before it flew off. "Yeah, but we got some backup incoming in the form of Team 8, so we're going to set up camp here.

Goldenrod, Onyx, you two secure the area. Quality over quantity."

The two male genin nodded as they both made two clones of themselves, then disappeared in the trees.

Anko made her own clone and smirked as it began to set up camp a little ways off the main path. "Lilac, follow me." She walked back to the bound Meizu with Ami behind her. "I'm going to teach you how to interrogate someone effectively."

Ami paled a bit. "U-Um...didn't we already get the info we needed out of him…?"

Anko chuckled darkly with a grin. "Nah, we just got the necessities. I want him broken, and gift wrapped for my former boss in the T&I department, so that's what you're going to do. You know basic anatomy, right? Liver, spleen, testicles, the works. I'm gonna teach you the parts to poke and prod at to get the best results without threatening his life."

Ami nodded with a gulp. "Are you sure I can do this….Hebi-sensei?" She was given a scalpel and a pair of tweezers as a response. "O-Okay…"

"Cut right above the nipple. There should be some sensitive muscles there that don't like being touched."

Ami nodded as she did as she was told, and then very carefully tugged at the exposed muscles with the tweezers, making Meizu scream loudly, before he was gagged by a snake's tail in his throat. The genin girl closed her eyes as she pulled harder and then tore a few tendons out, making Meizu let out a cry of pain.

Anko chuckled. "You're a natural, you only tore out the super sensitive tendons. Now, for the next place."

* * *

Shikamaru stared at the orange sky through the trees on the ground with a peaceful smile. He found a place nearby to relax and process what he did, now he's just lazing about.

Ami walked over to Shikamaru, shivering and covered in blood.

Shikamaru leaned up and stared at Ami. "You okay…?"

Ami shook her head as she sat down next to Shikamaru. "Hebi-sensei is teaching me how to interrogate a target...bloodily...I've already taken out at least fifty tendons, some nerve clusters….and a testi-"

Shikamaru shushed Ami as he laid down. "Quiet...lay down."

Ami sighed as she listened to Shikamaru. "Why…?"

"Look up at the clouds."

Ami looked up without question, and sighed. "What is this supposed to do…?"

"It's supposed to calm you down and help you process what you just did and why it was necessary." Shikamaru pointed at a large puffy cloud. "See how clouds don't give a damn what they turn into, which way they blow, when they decide to get pissed and strike the earth, you know...free."

Ami groaned as she glanced at Shikamaru. "You're talking as if the clouds ha-"

"Shhhh...just...lose yourself in the clouds. I'll keep an ear out for trouble."

Ami sighed as she stared into the sky, slowly getting a kind of peaceful feeling from it. "Huh….you're right…" She smiled as she reached up at the clouds, then yelped when Naruto leapt over her. "HEY!"

Naruto grinned sheepishly as he turned to Ami. "Sorry! I didn't see you guys there!" He looked at the two of his teammates. "So, what are you guys doing? Watching clouds or something?"

Shikamaru gave Naruto a thumbs-up, telling him he was correct, and also telling him to lay down.

Naruto nodded as he flopped down and looked up with a sigh. "You know, this is the first time any of us have been out of the village, isn't it great?"

Shika looked at Naruto. "First time out of the village and I had to kill someone. Yeah, this might be great if I still wasn't getting used to killing." He looked back up at the clouds. "...I wonder if we could walk on the clouds one day, you know? Just have a village in the sky."

Ami glanced at Shikamaru. "A village might be a bit much. How about just us three? Besides, Kumo already has a view of the clouds."

Shikamaru sighed. "Lucky bastards…Maybe I'll defect, wouldn't that be something? The first Nara to join Kumo." He glanced at the box that popped up.

 _ **QUEST ALERT!**_

 _ **Shikamaru's Moving Castle**_

 _ **Objective 1a: Build a large house**_

 _ **Objective 1b: Reach LVL 75 in [Mechanic]**_

 _ **Objective 2: Make your house mobile**_

 _ **Objective 3: Make your house capable of sustained flight**_

 _ **Rewards: Safehouse/Team Base, 50000 EXP, Satisfaction of living in the clouds.**_

 _ **Failure: No safehouse.**_

 _ **Do you accept this quest?**_

 _ **[YES/NO]**_

The Gamer immediately pressed Yes. A chance of living in the clouds! That was amazing just thinking about it, no matter how troublesome the process would be. "So we're waiting for backup, right?"

Ami nodded as she stretched, accidentally hitting Naruto in the head as she did. "Sorry." She looked around. "Yeah. We're waiting for Team Eight to show up, but Anko sensei told us not to worry if they don't show up."

Anko appeared in the center of her three brats, and then kicked them all in the head. "Get up! I will not have you all catching the Nara's laziness!"

Shikamaru sighed as he got up. "What do you want us to do?"

Anko pointed at the trees. "Practice walking on trees!"

Shikamaru and Naruto looked at eachother, and the two both made two clones of themselves and had them do it while they laid back down.

Ami groaned. "That is not fair! I can't do the Kage Bunshin without dying!"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Not true. You could make one. But I would have to recharge you immediately, so it's better if you build up your Chakra reserves first while the clone that you're going to make will work on Chakra Control." He closed his eyes and then a blue stream of chakra came from Shikamaru and connected to Ami. "Think about how you make the normal Bunshin, but take it a step further. Your weight, your scent, your organs, your chakra network, it has to copy all of that, instead of just your skin. Then you need to make enough Chakra to make it solid."

Ami nodded and twisted her hands into the Horse symbol. "... **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** A single clone appeared next to Ami, and then caught the original while her Chakra replenished. "Ow...I do not want to do that again…"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I'll get you up to full, then you need to work on expanding your reserves so you can do that without draining yourself. Right now, because of our training, you have mid Genin reserves, without me, you would have passed out."

Anko nodded. "Yeah. The reason it's a Kinjutsu is that usually people make more than one clone and kill themselves. One has to have a minimum of mid genin levels, or five-hundred CP, in Shikamaru terms." She looked at Naruto. "Hey, I know you can make more clones. I will not have your Chakra Control hindering us! Make eighteen more!"

Naruto groaned as he made eighteen more Kage bunshin, who went to go do the Tree walking technique as well.

The team did this for hours, Ami occasionally collapsing due to replacing her clone, but by the end of it, she was barely wasting any chakra on the technique, nearing the bare minimum required to do it effectively. Naruto...was getting better. He was no longer making the trees explode when he lost focus, which was a huge improvement, instead he

was being blasted off of the trees. Shikamaru had raised the skill by three levels, bringing it up to level twenty, making the skill give a five percent reduction in all CP based skill cost. Which was very powerful, as it affected everything, though he still couldn't silently create Kage Bunshin.

Anko tilted her head, then groaned. "I thought I requested Team 8."

A man leapt out of the trees, his hitai-ate covering one of his eyes, his grey hair seeming to defy gravity like Naruto's. "Mah mah, relax Anko-san. We were available, and that's all there was too it. Kurenai-san's team was busy on a C-Rank of their own." He looked at the team behind her. "Those your Genin? They don't look like much."

Shikamaru glanced over at Kakashi, being interrupted from his cloud watching. "Hm? You say something cyclops?"

Kakashi gasped. "IT WAS YOU! You were the one making lazy excuses a while ago!" He looked at Anko again. "I take it back, you have a fine team."

All of team Hebi sweatdropped except for Shikamaru, but Naruto spoke up. "Hey, Kakashi-san, where's your team? Shouldn't they be here right now?"

Kakashi sighed. "Yes, they should. But they decided that taking the ground was the better option, as they don't know how to tree walk yet."

Anko's eye twitched. "We've had our brats for over a month, and you still haven't taught them how to do that basic technique?! What the hell Kakashi!"

Kakashi sighed. "I know, berate me all you want, but their teamwork was abysmal, so much so that they nearly failed the bell test. The whole month I have been teaching them how to work as a unit, and also nearly beating the fangirl out of the two girls. Worked like a charm on Kasumi, but Sakura still has...a long way to go."

Ami nodded. "To be fair to the lazy guy, he has a really good point. If a team can't work together, they shouldn't be trained, as the strongest will just try to take over at any moment instead of playing to each other's strengths. For example, Naruto is the distraction with his clones, Shikamaru is the strategist, and I'm being trained to be the information

extractor of the group."

Kakashi chuckled softly. "Well, training your team to be the parts of teams that are usually missed by others huh? Smart move, considering that you guys seem to be the elite team. How did you get their teamwork to be so good Anko-san?"

Anko chuckled. "I didn't have to do shit in that area. They've been working as a team before it was official. They know practically everything about each other they're allowed to tell. So I've been working on toughening them up."

Sasuke walked into the clearing with his two teammates behind him, Sakura panting heavily and Kasumi panting lightly. "Kakashi-sensei, what was that I heard about that team of rejects being the elite?"

Kasumi groaned as she hit Sasuke on the back of the head. "Just shut up already you prick. We're here to help out with a now B-Rank mission, so let's be professional about it."

Sasuke growled lowly, but nodded, and saw Shikamaru's attire. "What the hell are you wearing?"

Shikamaru slowly got up and then replaced himself with a falling leaf behind Team Seven and tapped Sasuke's spine with a kunai. "Just something that makes me harder to keep track of. Don't worry about it. We got a mission, so let's get this over with. I want to go back to watching the clouds." He walked back over to the nearby Tazuna, making everyone stare at him.

Sakura blinked. "Since when was Shikamaru so bossy?"

Naruto smiled at Sakura. "Since always Sakura-chan. When he doesn't have an option to avoid something he thinks is troublesome, he wants to get it done as quickly and efficiently as he can."

Ami smirked. "Something you could take a page from, Pinkey. Good to see you again Kasumi, sorry you had to get teamed up with those two."

Kasumi sighed as she followed her friend, knowing that the mission came first. "Come on guys, I don't want to die."

Sasuke groaned, then saw the scythe on Shikamaru's back. "Hey, Nara. Where'd you get that scythe?"

"Bought it."

"Hand it over."

"No."

Sasuke growled. "That wasn't a request."

Shikamaru paused in his step, then sighed. "Tell you what...when you become the leader of the group, who has to be stronger, more patient, and more strategic than everyone here, you can _ask_ for my scythe. Until then, kindly fuck off." He looked at Naruto and Ami. "I'll take the front with Hypnos, Lilac, middle left with Flamingo, Goldenrod, you're in the back with Hebi." The team split, making Shikamaru look at Kasumi and Sasuke. "Amber, Raven, you're on the middle right because I don't trust any of my teammates not to screw with you Raven, and I don't trust Flamingo to do her job around Raven. Take your positions."

Sasuke looked at Kakashi, and received a nod, making him grumble and go over to the empty side with Kasumi.

Kakashi looked at Shikamaru. "Why'd you do these positions?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Well, for one, Flamingo can't be placed with Goldenrod or Raven for obvious reasons, and she can't be placed with Hebi, because Hebi would kill her, and she would be in the way up here, so I have Lilac keeping her in check. Raven and Amber because the boy seems to shut up whenever Amber gets mad, Goldenrod and Hebi in the back because despite how loud they are, they can shut up when they need to and are our stealth specialists. And you and I up here because we currently have the best scouting abilities of the group."

Kakashi nodded as he checked Shikamaru's reasoning, then smiled. "It has nothing to do with the fact we both have face masks, right?" When he got a shrug, he chuckled. "Alright, I'll trust you, but why Hypnos?"

Shikamaru chuckled. "Because you have the eye that likes to hypnotise people." He tapped his closed left eye, then tossed a book at Kakashi. "Hebi gave me this to do my research. I know what Zabuza is capable of, or at least what people have lived to tell." He then pulled out another book and consumed it, the shadow it transformed into wrapping around his body, then allowing a skill to pop up.

 _ **You have learned the skill [Chakra Sensing]!**_

 _ **Chakra Sensing**_ _ **(Passive/Active): LVL: 1 EXP: 0.01% Cost: Variable A rare ability that one is either born with or can train to attain, though most don't bother.**_

 _ **Passive sensing range of 1m**_

 _ **Expanded range cost: 30 CP per second per meter**_

Shikamaru then made two Kage Bunshin to go and train the ability up. "That was something that I developed some time ago. I still don't know exactly how it works, but it allows me to assimilate knowledge. It really quickens training. Though I only gain enough knowledge to gain basic mastery of an ability. I am still required to train the ability."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "Is there any limit…?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Yes. I can't assimilate anything that I can't already comprehend, or will die from using, or simply cannot use like a bloodline. But anything that involves plain or basic elemental chakra is theoretically within my grasp, along with physical techniques that I can physically perform if I am strong, flexible, and/or durable enough to utilize."

Kakashi sighed. "That's...powerful…I wonder why I didn't get you on my team…"

"Because the Council wanted you to train Raven on how to use his eyes when they awaken, and didn't care about the others. That's why. Also because no one felt like dealing with the prick enough to get his spot, and no one else wanted to be teamed with him."

Kakashi nodded softly. "That's...harsh, but fair." The rest of the uninterrupted portion of the trip was left in silence.

* * *

Shikamaru sighed as the group kept walking as they had been for hours. His clones didn't get very far with the sensing, as one had overloaded his senses and dispelled, and the other took it slow, so he only got three levels from it, which was enough to cover the entire group, but it wasn't good enough right now. He flinched as he felt something cold off to the left, then cast a single senbon into the bushes, replacing himself with it when he felt the coldness replace itself with a very very weak signature. He slid to a stop, then gently picked up the snow white rabbit, who was trembling. "Hey little guy...don't worry, the sicko who replaced themself with you will pay." He made a clone to take the rabbit, then stared forward. There was a single man standing in their way.

Kakashi held his hand up and the group stopped. "...A-Rank nuke nin, Momochi Zabuza, Kirigakure no Kijin."

The man walked closer, bandages covering up the lower half of his face. "Oh? You know of me. How flattering, Kakashi of the Sharingan."

Shikamaru covered up his face as well and glared. "Wanted for the failed assassination attempt of the Yondaime Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura. Bounty of two hundred thousand ryō from Kiri, dead, three times as much alive, five times as much when delivered with your blade, Kubikiribōchō, One of the stolen Seven Legendary Blades of Kiri."

Zabuza chuckled at Shikamaru's getup. "And a mini-me? Really?"

Shikamaru cracked his neck as he felt the Killing Intent Zabuza was emitting. "Not his student, I just find the outfit useful for assassinations." He took his scythe off of his back and spun it a bit to get into a battle position.

Somewhere in Amegakure, two people sneezed at once. "Hey, someone's acting like us!"

"Shut up Hidan."

Kakashi gasped when he saw Zabuza splash onto the ground, then turned to see his blade flying through the air at the rest of the group. "Get down!"

Ami pushed Sakura to the ground as she bent out of the way of the blade, kicking it a bit to send it crashing into the ground next to Tazuna.

"Oho...not bad. Good reflexes Girly. Better than the pink one, at least." He appeared next to his blade. "Sorry about this, but I'm going to kill the old guy."

Naruto landed next to Zabuza and slashed at him, making the man dodge easily and counter with a kick, making Naruto disappear in a puff of smoke.

' _Kage Bunshin at this age? This might actually be fun.'_

Kakashi pushed Tazuna far back. "Team Seven, Manji formation, cover Tazuna while I take out Zabuza." He looked at Shikamaru.

Shika nodded at Kakashi. "Team Hebi, Formation 'Kitsune'." Which basically translated to fight to kill instead of capture. He stared at Zabuza, preparing to strike as his clone stealthily used a kagemane from the treeline.

Kakashi uncovered his left eye and revealed his fully matured Sharingan eye. "You won't be leaving this place alive."

Zabuza picked his blade up off of the ground with a scoff. "The Sharingan so soon? I'm flattered." He looked at the group of kids behind Kakashi. "So let's hurry this up. I have to kill the old man to get paid." He suddenly appeared on the water, just dodging the clones jutsu.

Shikamaru cursed as he got close to his group. "My clone missed."

Sakura gasped at the sight of Zabuza. "H-He's standing on the water!"

Shikamaru glared and saw Zabuza standing on the water, holding an Ox hand seal with mist swirling around him. He was making the water around him turn into mist to blind everyone. "Damn…" He covered his eyes with his hitai-ate, his vision now useless, so he's not going to bother with it and just protect more of his face instead.

Zabuza stared at the group and chuckled darkly. " **Ninpo: Kirigakure no Jutsu.** " He then faded into the mist that just thickened even more around the group.

Kakashi growled and then was about to flare his Chakra when Shikamaru stopped him. "Onyx…"

Shika looked around, tracking the signature of Zabuza. The whole area was saturated in his chakra, though his was more concentrated, and moving. He looked up and then activated **[Chakra Dash]** to appear behind Tazuna and bisect Zabuza, making the man melt into water. "...That didn't sound like blood."

Kakashi saw this, then faded into the mist as well, and appeared next to Shikamaru to stab another Zabuza in the gut, causing that one to melt as well, and was suddenly bisected by yet another Zabuza, _also_ melting into water. It was why Shikamaru didn't help him.

Naruto and Ami appeared next to this Zabuza and stabbed him in both its lungs and his heart, making this one melt as well.

Kakashi let out an annoyed sound. "Mizu Bunshin."

Shikamaru nodded as he kept searching the area. "So the real one has a chakra signature ten times as strong as these clones, right?"

Kakashi nodded as he sliced appeared next to another clone, decapitating it with a kunai. "He'll keep sending these at us until we become exhausted."

Naruto yelped as he dodged out of a few swings from a Zabuza clone, then sliced through its jugular. "That may take a while then!"

Shikamaru groaned as he sliced through two clones right as they were formed. "It doesn't matter! The others don't have the stamina for this, so we need to hurry this up!" He smirked when his clone dispelled and he saw that Zabuza was still on the water. ' _It's a shame I can't do that…Then again, if it's just like the tree walking, it's likely a sphere of chakra instead of a tree!'_

 _ **[Tree Walking] has evolved into [Surface Walking] due to your reasoning plus your LUK stat!**_

 _ **Surface Walking**_ _ **(Active) LVL: 20 EXP: 0.00% Cost: Variable: Chakra control skills created for ease of movement and training, allowing for less base chakra to be wasted in techniques, as well as faster travel time.**_

 _ **Allows for walking on all solid surfaces of any angle: 54 CP per minute**_

 _ **Allows for walking on liquid surfaces of any angle: 30 CP per second**_

 _ **? [Unlocked at Skill LVL 75]**_

 _ **-5% CP cost to all Chakra based skills.**_

Shikamaru chuckled softly, then dashed towards the much much larger chakra signature. "Kakashi! Get rid of the mist now!" He uncovered his eyes as he began to run on the water.

Kakashi quickly made a few hand signs, then expelled a wall of wind from his mouth, getting rid of the mist.

Zabuza was shocked that a fresh genin was wielding a scythe, let alone water walking, but he liked surprises. He met Shikamaru's blade and tossed him away, sending him skipping on the water. "Well done kid. I can tell that you've killed before, you went for a weak point in between the spinal cord. How many have you killed?"

Shikamaru skidded to a halt on the water, then silently held up four fingers. He went to attack Zabuza again, able to actually see the words above his head, now that he isn't a clone.

 _ **Kirigakure no Kijin**_

 _ **Zabuza Momochi**_

 _ **LVL: ?**_

He threw three senbon at the much more experienced ninja, then substituted himself with one of them as a standard Bunshin was run through, making it fade. "You're not the only one with tricks." He went to decapitate Zabuza, hoping that he wouldn't get kicked in the face as he did, but instead was kicked in the stomach again. Shikamaru placed all of his senbon in his open pouch as he was kicked away, making all of them spill onto the water. But unlike the normal metal senbon, these were his bone crafted ones, and they floated.

Zabuza picked one of the needles up. "Huh. Nice job making this. Usually bone likes to splinter, but you were able to carve it into perfectly balanced senbon. How'd you do that?"

Shikamaru appeared in front of Zabuza and clashed blades with him again. "You use the whole bone, and make sure the bone and the grindstone are well lubricated to prevent splintering. Lighter and faster, at least half the cost." He jumped away when he sensed Zabuza gathering water chakra in his lungs, then bent out of the way of a water bullet. "I really wish I had the Sharingan. It would let me learn so many things, but it's too troublesome to deal with."

Zabuza appeared above Shikamaru and slammed him into the water with the blunt side of his blade. "You got that right kid!" He pulled Shikamaru out of the water by his shirt. "You got spirit, unlike the pink one. You would've made a fine shinobi. See you in hell, kid." He phrased it as a greeting as he performed one handed signs and a large orb of water slowly formed around Shikamaru.

Kakashi was already running towards Shika, then cursed as he replaced himself with the Genin, putting himself in jutsu.

Kasumi saw this and then gasped at the sight, freezing up long enough for a Zabuza clone to smack her away with the flat side of his blade. It with for the kill, but instead was decapitated by Ami.

"Come on, we still need to protect Tazuna from these clones."

Kasumi nodded. "But what about Shikamaru and Kakashi-sensei?"

Ami sighed. "Well, if Shikamaru dies, that's bad. But they can hold their own, both of them. Besides, they have help."

And that help appeared behind Zabuza. " **Sen'ei Jashu!"** Dozens of snakes shot towards Zabuza, who flickered away from the threat, making Kakashi fall onto the water.

Anko chuckled as she drew her dual Katar from her sleeves. "I'm hurt Gaki. You called out the kill command without thinking of me!"

Shikamaru appeared behind Zabuza and slashed up, sparks flying from the clash of the blades. "Oh I thought of you, I just let you do whatever the hell you wanted!"

Kakashi threw three kunai at Zabuza, who flickered away. "Probably a smart move. She likes to do what she wants anyways."

Anko flickered in front of Zabuza and stabbed at him with her own blades, her arms being deflected and being kicked away, revealing that it was a Hebi Bunshin.

Shikamaru appeared behind Anko and blocked a downward cleave from Zabuza, having to use **[Oni's Strength]** just to hold his ground. He was hemorrhaging Chakra at this point, the walking on water thing draining him quick.

Anko noticed this and then grabbed Shikamaru and tossed him with all of her strength back to the mainland. "Leave this fight to the adults Gaki! Great job on stalling him!"

Shikamaru sighed as he flew through the air. He stretched his arms a bit, then bisected a Zabuza clone that was about to kill Sakura. "Get up and fight. It's not to hard, considering they're one tenth the strength of the original."

Anko and Kakashi stood on both sides of Zabuza, glaring at him as they silently made a plan.

Zabuza chuckled as he glanced at both of his targets. "I got seven targets back on the shoreline. Which one do you want me to kill first once I'm done with you two…?"

Anko smirked. "The useless pink one, obviously, but you have to beat us first."

* * *

 **Okay! This one was supposed to come out about a week ago, but cram studying for finals, passing school and the like, I was...really distracted. Anyways, here you guys go, I hope that the Zabuza battle isn't too horrible, because we all know that we hate the Wave Arc. Every author hates writing it, and every reader would rather skip it. I completely understand if you want to tune in after I'm done with this, so...yeah. Have a good day everyone!**

 **P.S. Got my permit. Yay! Don't have a new job yet. Booo!**


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